Not What Was Expected
by x0xCherryBlossomx0x
Summary: Lucy finally plans to tell Natsu how she feels until she witnesses something that throws that idea right out the window. Unfortunately for the gorgeous celestial mage there's someone to witness her heart breaking, or is it fortunate? Could this be the man that helps her realize her and Natsu weren't really meant to be? Lemon in later chapters LaLu, Mentions of NaLu and Natsu/?
1. Chapter 1

Ok So this is my first Fairy Tail fic and the first time I've done this particular pairing but the more i read the more I love them :p unfortunately i do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.

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Chapter One: Christmas Surprise

Lucy Heartfilia stared in to the mirror of her desk twisting left then twisting right. She bit her lip and scrutinized every inch of cloth that covered her lush body. She grinned as she leaned forward to get a bit closer to the mirror using her finger tips to fix her bangs moving them out of her large brown eyes. "Perfect!" She straightened up and grinned triumphantly she looked amazing. She struck a quick pose in front of the mirror then jumped as she heard a quite knock at her door she laughed slightly at her own nerves before pulling open the door to see her slight blue haired best friend.

Lucy held her arms out to the side putting her body on display for her friend and slowly spun in a circle. She stopped and peered nervously in to her friends green eyes "Well what do you think?" Levy grinned and nodded taking in her friends form covered in black fabric that clung to ivory skin and ended close to the tops of her thighs a little bit of white lace contrasting with her pale skin along the bottom of the dress and around the top of the dress outlining her larger than most bust, a small white belt hung around her hips attached were her spirit keys and her ever present whip. "You look amazing as usual Lucy" Lucy squealed and pulled her friend in to a bone rushing hug. The small bluenette wheezed for breathe. The girls' dainty body encased in her usual orange dress held up by the white bow around her neck her wild blue hair tied back in a matching orange ribbon. "Natsu won't be able to take his eyes off you."

The blonde blushed and quickly covered her friends' mouth glancing left and right around her small studio apartment. "Levy! You never know when an annoying dragon or his pesky blue cat will hop through my window." The bluenette rolled her eyes and laughed at her friend who was darting around the apartment and checking behind the couch or under the bed. Come on they are probably at the guild which is where we should be the festivities are starting. Lucy nodded decisively happy that her apartment seemed to be pest free. She hooked arms with the smaller girl and closed the apartment door behind her.

As soon as the blonde and bluenette walked through the doors of the rambunctious guild hall they heard a high pitched yell "Luuuuucyyyy" The blonde had seconds to pen her arms and catch the blue ball of fur hurdling at her at top speed. "Merry Christmas Happy" the girl laughed as the exseed landed in her abundant cleavage. The little blue cat flew up and around her head chanting in a nonstop slur of words. "Did you bring me a present? Is it a fish? Natsu got you something awesome! Your gonna love it!" Lucy caught Levy's win out of the corner of her eye before the small girl took off toward the corner of the hall where a certain grumpy metal eating dragon was pretending not to watch the slight blue haired girl. Lucy's attention was snapped back to the space in front of her where Natsu had his small blue friend in a head lock "Happy don't tell her!" Lucy grinned and laughed at the pair. "Of course I got you two presents they are under the tree with all the others, you'll just have to wait and see what they are." Natsu grinned playfully at the blonde and took hold of her arm to drag her to the table that held the rest of their team slinging her in to a seat between him and the half-naked Grey. "Merry Christmas Lucy." The ice mage smiled at her. "You're missing your pants Grey." Was her quick retort and the ice mages eyes got wide as he went off in search for his missing clothing. Natsu laughed and threw his arm around the celestial mages shoulders.

Lucy couldn't help but lean in to his touch just a bit, her heart skipping a beat and she was sure the dragon slayer could hear it but she was just as sure that he was completely oblivious to what it meant. She glanced up, to see Erza sitting across from the two, wink at her. She blushed a bit and grinned, The warm arm from around her shoulders quickly withdrew as Natsu took off to fight a semi naked grey it was only minutes before half the guild was involved and there was just a cloud of dust with random pieces of furniture being chucked across the room. "You're not going to stop them?" the blonde looked incredulous and the requip mage just shrugged "It's Christmas I'll let them have their fun. So when are you going to tell Natsu?" Lucy shushed her giggling friend and glanced at the clearly occupied dragon slayer. "I'm hoping to catch him under the mistletoe later tonight." She whispered. Titania nodded sagely and wished her friend luck.

As the night wore on Lucy watched the pink haired loveable goof start fights then evade Erza and make a ruckus. Every once in a while he would catch her eye, beam at her and wave. Lucy melted just a bit and blushed as she took a sip of her drink. She and Natsu had been such good friends for so long but it was clear as day to everyone in the guild that the two belonged together. She felt her heart speed up as she saw Natsu slip out the front door most likely going for air. _'Now's my chance. Finally he's alone and I can tell him I love him.' _ The blonde caught Levy's eyes who had also noticed Natsu leave and she gave Lucy thumbs up before her attention was returned Gajeel.

Lucy tried to calm her heart as she headed to the front door not noticing that Natsu hadn't been the only one to leave the room. She didn't even notice the eyes that tracked her across the room from the railing of the second floor. "Are you going after her?" The eyes watching Lucy closed and the person heaved a sigh before standing "She's going to go tell flame brain she loves him. Do I really want to make myself throw up tonight?" The comment received a dark chuckle from one of the speakers' companions and the speaker glared before stretching and leisurely heading in the same way of the blonde. "Guess So!" The voice that laughed shouted after the retreating figure and was guffawed when his friend casually gave him the finger.

Lucy stopped just before pushing open the door to give herself a silent pep talk _'ok you got this girl! You look amazing tonight! No way he can turn you down, not that there's any question about the fact that he loves you just as much as you love him.' _She nodded to herself and steeled herself smiling brightly. She pushed her way out of the door and to the left inhaling a large breath to shout out Natsu's name and letting it whoosh right back out at the sight that greeted her. There not three feet from the front doors of the guild stood the man she loved wrapped up in another's arms, lips locked. She choked and was mildly surprised that her eyes had not filled with tears. _'I must be in shock'_ she thought numbly because not only was Natsu lip locked with someone who wasn't Lucy but that person happened to be Grey Fullbuster.

The two boys were oblivious to the girl standing there watching as her heart shatters. She heard a low whistle right next to her ear and glanced to the side to see a fellow blonde with a wicked grin across his face. "Well was not expecting that one."

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Okay that was the first chapter let me know what you think but please keep the flames to a minimum Natsu isn't hungry right now . Helpful criticism is appreciated but not nearly as much as love :p If people like this then I will for sure continue but let me know! And i'm sorry if they are a bit OOC, I'll work on that lol And this looked so much longer when i was writing it .


	2. Chapter 2

I present to you, Chapter two!I just graduated college today so i felt happy and in the mood to write, hence why this chapter has come to you so soon!

As usual i don't own Fairy Tail and sorry for any OOC And just so you know the slashes mean a scene change or a new point of view

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Chapter Two: Mission, What mission?  


Blondie hadn't been to the guild in three days. He hadn't meant to notice it, wasn't like he cared but he couldn't get the picture of absolute grief that had been her face out of his head. He glanced at her team and noticed the two male mages were stealing glances at each other when they though no one was watching. He really had been surprised at the fat that the two of them had been hooking up without anyone noticing. He realised that all the fights they got in must have been just an excuse to touch each other. No matter how caught up the two were with each other it did not mean that the blondes absence hadn't been noticed. His dragon hearing strained just slightly to pick up the worry in Natsu's voice as he regaled his team with news of how Lucy had downright refused to let him in to her apartment.

Laxus sighed and swept his eyes round the room before he found a slight blue haired girl in a corner with the steel dragon as her company. He stared at Gajeel until the man finally turned toward him with a sneer, his eyes asking the lightning dragon what the hell he wanted. He looked back to Fairy Tails "strongest team" then back to Gajeel as if to say 'notice something missing?' Gajeel rolled his eyes and shrugged 'What's it to me?' his posture seemed to say. Gajeel was about to return his attention to the shrimp beside him when Laxus caught his eye once more and pointed at Levy 'Sure, doesn't matter to you, but what about her?'

Gajeel sighed and leaned his head down toward Levy's ear subconsciously inhaling her scent. "Hey Shrimp it seems like fire brain has been louder than usual where's bunny girl to keep him in check?" Levy bit her lip and looked at the three mages and the little blue exceed. "Lucy said she had to talk to Natsu the other night. But I haven't seen her. Maybe I should go check on her." Levy closed her book and stood shooting Gajeel a smile before making her way out of the guild. Gajeel growled low in his throat in annoyance, the noise easily reaching Laxus's ears. The thunder dragon smirked and spun around positive that the solid script mage would cheer up the small blonde. Not that he cared.

/

Levy knocked on the door loudly and huffed in exasperation she had been at the door for at least four minutes and Lucy had refused to open it. "Lu-Chan if you don't open this door now I will get Natsu and Grey to break it down!" She heard a chocked sob and stopped mid knock in surprise. "Lu-Chan? Please open the door, I'm worried." Finally the solid script mage heard the lock click. She waited a moment then carefully opened the door and poked her head in. The celestial mage was curled up on her couch, her hair a ratty mess and her clothes oversized. "Oh Lu-chan." Levy rushed to her friend and wrapped her in a hug. "He turned you down?" Lucy shook her head. "You couldn't do it?" Lucy shook her head again and Levy pulled back in confusion. "What happened?"

Lucy opened her mouth and a sob rang out she threw her arms around the bluenette and after a few more sobs she forced out the words that had been running through her mind over and over. "He's gay!" Levy cocked her head to the side and tried very hard not to smile at the ridiculous notion. "What do you mean Lucy? The whole of Fairy Tail knows he's head over heels for you." Lucy violently shook her head. She scrubbed her hands against her face and began to tell her best friend the whole story starting from her resolution to confess and then continuing with what happened after her and Laxus found the two volatile mages making out.

*****Flashback*****

"_Well was not expecting that one." Lucy's large brown eyes swiveled to the side to see Laxus right beside her leaning against the wall and smirking. Lucy covered her mouth with her hand and stared at him incredulously. "How can you just stand there?" The thunder dragon slayer shrugged. "I'm not the one in love with one of those brats." Lucy's eyes swiveled back to the sight in front of her and chocked down a sob. The two had separated and Lucy knew she had mere moments before they caught her starring. Suddenly there was a hand roughly grabbing her upper arm and jerking her back through the guild doors before the two boys could turn to go back inside. _

_ Lucy wrenched her arm out of Laxus's grip and glared up at him, her vision slightly blurry due to the tears filling her eyes. "Come on Blondie it's not the end of the world, he's just a boy." Lucy fought the urge to slap him, it wasn't the blonde dragon slayers fault he just so happened to be by her side when she was so upset. Instead of physically hitting the ginormous man in front of her she glared at him. "How would you know? You've never had a broken heart before. Not that you have a heart to break." She snarled before storming out of the guild right pat Natsu and Grey who were heading back inside. "Hey Luce! Where are you going?" The happy voice calling after her just made her run faster toward her home._

*********End Flashback***********

Levy gave a low whistle as her friend finished her story. "Wow Lu-Chan that was a bit harsh." Lucy's mouth gaped open. "I just told you I saw the man I love in the arms of another and that's the part you find important? That I yelled at Laxus?" Levy shrugged a bit and pulled her friend in to another hug, running her fingers through tangled blonde hair. "Are you going to hide in here forever?" Lucy nodded and Levy sighed. "Some food for thought for ya Lu-chan. Do you really love Natsu? Or do you love the idea of the two of you being together?" Lucy pushed away from her friend, suddenly furious. "What's that supposed to mean?! Of course I love Natsu!" Levy shook her head and placed a light kiss on her friends' forehead before standing up and heading to the door. "Just don't let Fairy Tail dictate who you should be with. Just because they thought you two were meant to be doesn't mean there isn't someone who truly is meant to be with you." She sighed deeply at the back of her friends head. "You know where to find me if you want to talk."

/

It took another two days before Lucy could be seen hesitantly walking in to the guild hall. Her hair was brushed and her clothes were the usual skimpy top and skirt. "LUUUUUCYYYYY!" She glanced in the direction of the yell and opened her arms right before Happy barrelled in to her chest. His eyes were large and watery as he looked up at the blonde mage. "Lucy we missed you. Why wouldn't you talk to us?" His voice was whiny and Lucy couldn't help but melt at the small exceed. "I'm sorry Happy, I just... Wasn't feeling well." "Well I'm glad you're feeling better! I was hoping the team could go on a quest soon! After all your rent must be coming up right!" Lucy's body stiffened at the voice from behind her. She slowly spun around to see Natsu smiling goofily at her. Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again as she stared at her ignorant friend. "Oh, ah-I" She stuttered before she felt a heavy arm drape across her shoulders. "Sorry flame brain but Blondie and I already have plans for a mission." Her brown eyes looked up at the bored face of Laxus who was staring down the fire eater as if daring him to dispute that fact.

"Luce?" Natsu sounded confused and he looked at his frozen best friend. He opened his mouth to question her but she cut him off. "Sorry Natsu." She tried to make her voice sound less hollow.

/

Laxus didn't have to intervene. In fact he had no clue as to why he had. He was perfectly content to watch the Blonde get increasingly more flustered but her words from the other night rang in his head. '_Not that you have a heart to break.' _He couldn't help but want to prove the blonde wrong and as she floundered in front of the pink haired idiot. He hadn't realized what he was doing until he wrapped himself around the slighter body and spoke to the pink haired mage. He could feel the incredulous stares of his team boring in to his back and new he was going to have to face their questions at some point. A grin spread across his lips as Lucy apologized to her friend then carefully handed him the flying blue cat. Laxus used the arm around her shoulders to carefully steer her to the mission board where he plucked a random mission off the wall and smirked at a slightly shell shocked blonde.

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Let me know what you think! constructive criticism welcome but please no need to be rude :) The more i hear that people like it the more likely you are to get chapters or you know as long as this little plot bunny hops around my mind :P I'm working on making the chapters longer but part of me feels this may be the normal length through out the story, Let me know if it's to short please!


	3. Chapter 3

Alright here is chapter three. As usual I own nothing about Fairy Tail but enjoy ^.^

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Chapter Three: The mission

Lucy had been standing in the same spot for the last, her eyes flicked to the clock and back, six and a half minutes. She was staring at the suitcase that lay on her bed. It was an innocuous item, medium sized, light pink, and filled with her clothes. The mission was not going to last long, two, three days tops. "What was I thinking? A mission with Laxus... This can't turn out well." She sighed and picked up her suitcase She locked her apartment door behind her and swiftly made her way to the train station to afraid of the overly large mage to be even close to late.

When she finally arrived at the station she surveyed the area until she saw a tall muscular body propped against a pole. She cautiously made her way over to the preoccupied mage who was standing with his head down and his sound pods on. "Hello." Her voice was strong completely at odds with the frailty of her mental state and her nerves. She blinked as he didn't move a muscle and she leaned to the side angling her head to the side to stick her face in his line of vision. "Laxus?"

/

Blue eyes opened to and a blonde eyebrow cocked up at the antics of the girl in front of him. His hands were resting in his pockets and he moved his thumb to turn off his music. "Took you long enough Blondie" Lucy frowned and crossed her arms under her chest. "But I'm actually on time for once" The words held a faint whine and the tall male smirked at her his eyes observing the ridiculous amount of cleavage her current position offered. He sighed as he stood up straight and placed a hand on the back of her head, using it to steer her toward the train. "Sure, sure let's just go."

Laxus leaned forward in his seat his elbows resting on his knees and he head hanging the music from his pod pounding in his ears for once he hated being a dragon slayer the heightened senses made it that much more difficult to block them out and the movement of the train was wreaking havoc on his stomach. He jerked a little at the feel of fingers smoothing through his hair over and over again every once in a while massaging his neck. He lifted a hand to move one of the pods of his ear and looked at the distracted girl beside him, reading a book ad playing with his hair. "What the hell Blondie?" Lucy looked up startled from her book by the gruff words spoken to her. She glanced at her hand which hadn't stopped messaging the back of his neck and her fingers stilled, her cheeks lighting up red. "Oh! Ah I'm sorry Laxus it's just… Habit, you know Natsu gets such bad motion sickness and this usually helps." She went to pull her hand away and Laxus growled feeling his stomach roil as the soothing movements halted. His eyes shifted to the side, away from the blonde and he mumbled out that it was helping. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the startled blonde smile then a second later her fingers began soothing him once more. He slid his pod back in place and settled in for the rest of the ride.

By the time the train came to a stop Lucy was near to done her novel and Laxus had never before had such an easy travel. He stood up and stretched wearily watching the girl race to finish reading the sentence before putting her book away. Laxus was starting to wonder why he had demanded she take a job with him; he knew she would just get in the way. He sighed and shuffled his way off the train resigning himself to the fact that he would have to watch the petit blonde. "So should we check in to the hotel?" Laxus nodded without looking back to acknowledge her. "Ya we'll check in then we track." Lucy slowly nodded her head, aware of the fact that Laxus wasn't even watching her.

/

Lucy silently followed Laxus her heart hurt at how different this felt. On the one hand she understood that Laxus was a very big fan of solitude and that he was doing her a huge favour by intervening when Natsu had asked for a job, on the other hand she missed her oblivious happy friend. They would not be walking in silence, she was sure that by now she would have already been trying to convince him that they couldn't afford the repairs of him destroying the whole town.

Lucy clenched her hands together and fought to not tear up at the thought of her affection for the pink haired idiot. He had been all she knew, her first friend, her fierce protector and she was so sure he would be her first love as well. Lucy staunchly ignored the fact that the brick road she had been starring at a minute before was now blurry. She continued following the wall of muscle in front of her until it came to an abrupt stop and she slammed right in to it, bouncing back and landing on her butt with a surprised shout.

Laxus turned and watched the wide eyed blonde on the ground strictly ignoring the way her skirt slid up her thighs. He was torn between annoyance at the fact that she hadn't been paying attention and grinning at the sight of the surprised look on her face. He chose to go for indifference and lent down to grasp her arm, pulling her up and placing her back on her feet. "If you're done becoming acquainted with the road, we're here." He observed her face turn about three different shades of red before she huffed and stormed past him and in to the building. Laxus shook his head and sighed this was going to be a long trip.

/

The mission they had taken had been about a mage that was terrorizing the small town it wasn't a difficult mission by Laxus's standards but the reward was substantial enough for him to consider it and he had noticed the blondes eyes light up at the mention of a silver key being part of the reward. "I'm sorry about what I said." A blonde eye brow arched and the owner glanced at the other side of the hotel room to the petit girl that was fastidiously ignoring eye contact. "What's that Blondie?" She huffed, her cheeks a light pink. "The other night when I yelled at you. I had no right to do that and I'm sorry. Also, thank you. For doing this for me... I know you have more important things to be ding other than babysitting me." He had settled back against the wall, his arms crossed across his large chest and observed the girl who was standing almost shyly across the room. He shrugged and looked away sullenly. "It's no big deal and besides I deserve every word any one form this guild has to say about me."

Lucy looked up in shock and suddenly the shy girl he had been starring at was gone and the spitfire he was used to seeing around the guild was storming across the room and pointing a finger against his chest. "Do you even listen to what you're saying?" She demanded. "You did something bad Laxus and then you fixed it. After what you've done for this guild nobody has any right to ever say anything bad to you." His stormy blue eyes stared in to her brown eyes as she refused to look away. Finally the battle of wills came to an end as his eyes shifted to the side. "Whatever you say Blondie. Now are we going to talk about the mage we're here to catch or would you rather continue with this little feelings jam session?" His voice was tinged with annoyance but his heart was racing at the small blonde's actions and words as they rang in his head.

Lucy nodded and sat down on the couch provided in the small sitting area, Laxus following and lowering himself in to a chair. "According to the people around town this mage is somehow making them live through every one of their worst nightmares." Lucy nodded at his words and crossed her arms. "Well then what do you propose we do." He stared at her like she was an idiot. "Duh we track the bastard down and beat the shit out of him." Lucy giggled and Laxus couldn't help the slight tilt of the side of his lips at the girlish noise.

Lucy bounced up from the couch and put her fists in the air. "Alright let's do this!" Laxus sighed and stood following the bouncing blonde out the hotel room door.

/

Lucy followed the lumbering form through the forest surrounding the town. She was 89% sure that they were lost but when she had commented on that though he had given her a glare so hard that she felt herself shrink under his hard blue eyes. Her Fleuve d'étoiles bounced against her thigh with every step she took and her fingers brushed over the holder that her keys rested in, excited at the idea of making another friend.

The blonde glanced up after untangling her ankle from a nearby root and frowned when the solid mass of muscle she had been following was nowhere to be seen. "Laxus?" She looked around and huffed in annoyance. She spoke in a slightly louder tone knowing that his advanced hearing could pick up her voice from the village if need be. "Laxus where did you go? This isn't funny you know!" She heard a rustle from some bushes nearby and saw what looked like a small bear come hurdling through the trees with extreme speed. It had black eyes and its claws were tipped in a dangerous looking metal that glinted at her as its misshapen hind legs launched its body at the startled blonde. The girl dove out of the way and pulled out one of her most trusted keys. "Open gate of the lion. Leo!" She paused as nothing happened. The cool smooth metal of the key sat lifelessly in her hand. He must be off on a date stupid Lion. She put the key back and pulled out another "Open gate of the bull. Taurus!" Again nothing happened. Now she started to panic nothing would stop the strong bull from coming out and protecting her body. She dodged the bear like monster again and grabbed the cylinder hanging from her hip. She tried to summon up some magic to pour in to the whip but nothing happened. Lucy collapsed to the ground astonished. What had happened to her magic? Where did it go? She went to grab another key but the key of the bull was no longer in her hands, in fact none of her keys were there. Hanging on her hip was an empty pouch. "Laxus?!" Her voice was hysterical now as her heart best in overtime and her hands were covered in sweat.

"Luce!" Her head jerked up to see Natsu come flying out of the trees His fist connecting solidly with the bear. Lucy watched in awe as the pink haired mage took down the monster as if it was nothing. He turned to Lucy and knelt down in front of her "What happened? Why didn't you take down that monster Lucy?" Lucy looked up at the concern in her friends eyes and felt her heart overflow with the love she felt for him. "Natsu..." Her voice was choked and her hands were balled in front of her chest holding the lifeless Fleuve d'étoiles in her hands "My magic... It's gone." Her voice died out and her heart raced with panic.

Natsu raised his eyes "You're not a mage anymore?" She could see the concern in his eyes cool and her eye brows scrunched together. "Natsu?" The pink fairy tail mark faded from the back of her hand and her breathing sped up. She was pretty sure she was hyperventilating. Natsu stood and took a step back from the girl in front of him. "This is why I don't love you." He laughed loudly in her face. "The thought that I could ever have loved you was ridiculous. You're so weak, all you have going for you is your looks. I only teamed up with you because I felt bad for you." He shrugged and turned his back on her. Lucy's eyes were filled with disbelief and heart break. Her heart had stopped and she couldn't breathe as she starred at his back and heard his final words fall from his lips. "It's a good thing I have Gray now, because I don't need you anymore."

/

Laxus sighed as he heard the steps behind him falter and stop. "What's the holdup Blondie?" He waited for an answer but heard nothing. He knew she was still there as he could hear her breathing. He turned and saw the Blonde girl standing completely still, her eyes blank. "Blondie?" He took a step toward her and saw her flinch then clench her hands. He thought for a minute she would hit him and he watched wearily as her face started to pale. Her empty eyes widened and he took a step toward her as her mouth fell open, her breathing picking up. "Lucy? What's wrong?" His voice was a low growl and he through the trees surrounding them. Suddenly her face went white as if she had seen a ghost and silently she fell to her knees. He rushed forward putting his hands on her shoulders and starring in to her eyes that seemed to dart side to side. "Shit" He muttered as he figured out what must have been happening. He saw her eyes slowly fill with disappear and an utter sadness that made his heart clench.

He shook her shoulder trying to snap her out of the illusion. "Come on Lucy you can fight it." He whispered he looked up and around and growled loudly. "Whoever you are you better fucking show yourself." He heard nothing and the smell of pine was everywhere, masking every scent except Lucy's which was right under his nose. He turned back toward the girl just in time to see one single tear roll down her cheek and silently asked for forgiveness as he sent a wave of electricity through her.

Her body shook silently until he pulled back a bit and suddenly he saw the recognition return to her eyes as she took in his face and her body crumpled in his hands, a sob ripping its way from her throat.

Laxus hesitated for only a moment before his arms wrapped around the girl, pulling her against his chest and slowly rocking her. "Hey it's ok Lucy, you're ok." He felt her arm move as she desperately reached for the keys on her hip, reverently feeling each and every one. Suddenly he heard a twig snap and the rustle of cloth as a person made their presence known with a loud slow clap.

/

"My, my Lucy that was just so very entertaining. I mean I feel like I know you, know the darkest parts of your heart, your desires and fears. And man Natsu, what a jerk." There was a smile in that voice and Lucy tensed in Laxus's arms she turned her head to see a figure leaning against a tree and felt a faint current run through skin under her hands. She looked at Laxus to see his teeth bared and the low growl coming from his throat registered in her ears.

She turned back to the grinning man and the scene she had just been in run through her head. Clearly this was the mage they were looking for. The one torturing the town with their inner most fears. She carefully stood and before either of the two boys could move a muscle she launched herself at the man.

A grin spread across his face as he easily dodged the enraged girl, flinging out an arm to catch her around the waist and pull her in to his arms. "Hmm Natsu was right, gorgeous but weak." He hissed. A bolt of lightning tore him away from the busty girl in his arms and he crashed in to a tree. "Don't touch her." The threat was growled as Laxus's body seemed to be covered in the dangerous electricity.

The mage struggled to stand using the tree as support and Lucy took the time to summon Loke, hesitating for a spilt second as her nightmare came back to her. "Open gate of the lion! Loke." The orange haired spirit popped in to existence and spun around to pull the girl in to his arms tightly. "Loke what are you doing?!" She felt the gentle kiss he dropped to the top of her head and the rest of her keys glowed faintly at her side. Her eyes filled with tears as she realised they must have felt her pain and seen the images.

The lion spirit spun away from his master and glared daggers at the illusion mage. His fists flared and he went to town on the mage, easily swatting away any counter attack the pitiful man attempted and beat him to the ground. As soon as the mage became unconscious Virgo popped out with some rope and roughly bound him, pulling the rope tight as she administered what she felt was punishment for the mage.

Laxus watched in amusement as Lucy's spirits took down the mage with no help from him and then his smile disappeared as once the mage was safely secured the two spirits surrounded Lucy and instantly started to babble. Lucy finally let her tears overwhelm her as she pulled the two spirits in to hugs as they reassured her that she was powerful and that they would never abandon her. Lucy thanked them profusely and Virgo bowed before disappearing but Loke gently placed a hand on her face, wiping away her tears. "You are our master and our friend and I will protect you and your line for the rest of my life."

Lucy smiled gently. "Thank you loke." The spirit hugged her again and then nodded at Laxus before disappearing. Laxus slowly walked up to the blonde. "Lucy… What did he show you?" Lucy shook her head and wiped away the last of her tears. "Something that I won't ever have to fear again." The dragon slayer wanted to push for more but held back. He dropped a heavy hand to the top of her head and gently ruffled her hair. "Come on let's go hand this guy in." Lucy nodded and smiled up at him.

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Okay let me know what you think :) Reviews are loved and appreciated and flames will be fed to Natsu. I'm trying to make Lucy sad but not too out of character so let me know how i did :p and i'm also trying to make my chapters longer, slight success! lol


	4. Chapter 4

So here is another one and I just want to thank everyone for the reviews they make me want to keep writing ^.^ I looked at the other chapters and realized i left a bunch of spelling mistakes i am sooo sorry but i will do better from here on out!

Once again the characters are not mine so hopefully I do them justice and keep them in character So enjoy and let me know what you think!

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Chapter 4: Old Friends

Lucy sat on the train heading back to Magnolia one hand rubbing the back of Laxus's neck the other running gentle fingers over the curves and dips of a new key. She was super excited that she would have a new friend as well as become a bit stronger. Laxus and her had stayed the night in a fairly nice hotel and she had considered signing the contract that night but had decided against it. They were headed back to Magnolia and they would have to go to the guild and undoubtedly Natsu would be there and he still didn't know anything was wrong.

She sighed quietly trying not to bother the sick slayer as she got lost in thought about how to avoid her long-time friend. "You have to talk to him." Her head snapped up and she looked at the man beside her who had his arms resting on his knees and was leaning forward peeking at her from one eye. "How did you know what I was thinking about?" Laxus rolled the one eye he had opened and then closed it continuing his conversation with the blonde and trying not to hurl. "Your heart picked up and you started t frown, not a long jump to the reason why. But you have to talk to him, tell him what you saw. If you ignore it he'll just keep pushing himself on ya without realizing he's hurting you."

Lucy raised an eyebrow then pouted. "Sheesh when did you get so wise, ya geezer." Laxus stiffened and slowly turned his head to stare at her "Geezer is what you call my gramps. I am not old." His face was serious and frightening however his voice held a note of petulance and Lucy had to fight not to smile at the cute tone. Lucy couldn't help a slight giggle. "Of course oh powerful one."

Laxus sighed and put his head back down mumbling to himself. "You know you people use to fear me." Lucy nodded. "Use to but now you're one of us. Your our Nakama and I will treat you as such just as I would Natsu or Gray." She released a suffering sigh coming to the realisation that of course the hulking figure beside her had a point and if she ignored the pink haired mage their friendship could become irreparable. She needed to talk to him and sort out her feelings, just because he didn't love her like the entire guild thought he did, didn't mean he wasn't her Nakama.

/

The two walked in to the guild and Lucy's body stiffened as a head of pink hair shot across the room calling out her name. She braced herself for impact, closing her eyes and flinching. However after a moment with her body not being forced to the ground she peeked her eye open to see a struggling Natsu hanging in front of her face. She let out a sigh of relief and looked up at the tall blonde that was restraining her friend as if he were holding a small puppy. "Not yet flame brain. Lucy has to report to the master and then you can talk to her.

The two younger mages expected him to drop Natsu however his hold on the collar of the pink haired mages shirt stayed and he began carrying him up the stairs to the second floor. Lucy and the entire rest of the guild watching the spectacle, other than Natsu's indignant cries and struggles no one spoke. "You coming Blondie?" She nodded and ran to the stairs to follow them to the master's office.

Laxus deposited Natsu in a different room and pointed at the younger mage. "Sit. Stay. Don't touch anything." He closed the door and grumbled something about how his office better be in one piece when they got back. Lucy smiled and followed him to the master's office where Makarov welcomed them back and delighted over the fact that they hadn't destroyed a small village. "Everything went well?"

Lucy remembered the run in with the mage and bit her lip before nodding. "As well as we expected." Makarov nodded and smiled at the two. "Great" They were dismissed and they turned to walk out the door. Lucy paused before the room they had left Natsu in and bit her lip but Laxus leaned around her, opened the door, and herded her in. He closed the door and leaned against it and they both saw Natsu stop pacing and make his way to the Blonde.

Natsu was a fairly dense man however he didn't miss the way Lucy flinched as he threw his arms around her for a hug. "Lucy what's wrong?" His voice was low and he sounded hurt. Had he done something wrong? Lucy glanced back at Laxus taking comfort in the presence of the man Natsu was ignoring. "Natsu… I… Iloveyou." She spit it out and instantly felt her eyes fill with tears. Natsu looked at her confused. "I love you to Luce. We're Nakama." He grinned and puffed up his chest as if the situation was resolved and Laxus flinched at the lack of tact. He almost felt bad for the female.

Lucy shook her head and angrily wiped away her tears before they had a chance to fall down her face. "I love you like you love Gray." Natsu's body stiffened and his eyes widened. "I saw you guys Natsu." He nodded slowly suddenly her odd behaviour for the last week made sense. "At Christmas." He didn't ask, he knew in the back of his mind, he knew. He always knew when she was near because she needed to be protected always. He loved her like family and he had memorized her scent. It had been there that night, he should have realised. "Dammit Luce." He sounded mad and the body standing at the door tensed, ready to intervene.

Laxus relaxed again when Natsu gently and carefully pulled the girl in to his arms. Holding her head against his shoulder and nuzzling in to her hair. His hand rubbing up and down her back "I'm so sorry Lucy." He held her as she cried wondering why he couldn't have loved the girl like she wanted. He hated hurting his family. "I'll give you some space if you need it. I promise I won't even climb through your window anymore, not until you tell me it's ok." The tall blonde quirked an eyebrow, he was climbing in to her apartment through her window? No wonder the girl was getting mixed signals. Lucy let out a watery laugh and relished the feeling of his warm muscular arms holding her. "I appreciate that Natsu. But you have to know it will take some time. Right now it hurts too much to see you." The pink haired mage nodded and felt a deep sadness penetrate his heart.

He pulled away from the blonde and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Come find me when you're ready. But keep in mind you will always be my family and I will always be there to protect you and keep you safe." Lucy nodded and Laxus moved away from the door so Natsu could leave. Lucy slumped to the ground and let herself sob at the pain that was lancing through her heart. She knew that Natsu loved Gray and she would never begrudge them their happiness, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

Laxus fidgeted nervously behind her, but he settled back against the door, gifting her this moment. He would wait for her to gather her emotions; surprisingly patience was a virtue he actually did have.

It took Lucy just over half an hour before the body wracking snobs turned in to hiccups and then another ten minutes for them to turn to quite sniffles. Suddenly there was white in front of her eyes and she looked up to see Laxus standing in front of her a tissue in his hand and his head turned so he wasn't looking at her. She appreciated the fact that he was letting her compose herself before being seen even if he had watched the whole thing she still had the illusion of privacy. She thanked the blonde dragon slayer and took the tissue from him wiping her eyes and blowing her nose before standing on shaky legs.

She threw out the tissue and tried to fix her hair and outfit a bit, praying to god that her makeup wasn't completely smeared down her face. When she finally stood and turned towards the door Laxus gave her a look silently asking if she was god to go. She nodded and he opened the door to let her leave. The two made their way silently down the stairs and half way through the hall before they were stopped.

"Gray." Large chocolate brown eyes stared up uncertainly at her friend. He sighed and grabbed her arm pulling her in to a hug. One arm wrapped tight around her shoulders the other holding her head tight against him. "Gray." Her voice wavered as if she was going to cry again and he shook his head. "I am so sorry Lucy. We both love you so much and we never wanted to hurt you." Lucy nodded against his shoulder and gently pulled away. "I know Gray." She tried to give him a smile and then moved past him her head down as she rushed out so no one else could stop her.

Laxus glared at the starring occupants of the room as the spectacle took place then followed Lucy out of the guild.

/

About half way to Lucy's apartment she realised that a hulking figure had been silently following her. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even realised Laxus had been following her. She stopped and looked up at him "Thank you Laxus. I don't know why you stayed with me today but I really appreciate it." He nodded and they looked at each other for a minute before continuing on to Lucy's apartment. Finally they got to the door of her building and she turned to him. "Are you gonna be ok?" Lucy nodded at the question and surprised the other mage by wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. "Thank you for walking me home." He nodded, not joining the embrace but not pushing her away. "I'm going to head home I'll be at the guild tomorrow." He left the sentence there not offering to spend more time with her but offering his location in case she felt the need to seek him out. She smiled gratefully and waved as he walked away.

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Reviews are loved and welcomed! and thank you all for taking the time to read this ^.^ 3


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own anything!

I know it's taken me a little bit longer than usual but i'm trying to find the best way to get to where i want lol and also i've been doing tons of over time at work so i'm absolutely exhausted. But! i see all the reviews and it makes me excited to write ^.^ thank you so much to every one who not only reviews but also the people favoring/following this story makes me so happy you all like it

And so, without further ado, Chapter five!

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Chapter 5: New Friends

Lucy stood in the middle of her apartment. It was the day after her last mission and she was examining the silver key gently between her fingers. Her heart sped up in excitement and she smiled, preparing herself to make a friend. She quickly chanted the incantation to open a new gate and there before her was a small flying purple dragon. He was about the size of a house cat with nearly transparent wings that lazily flapped in the air, two small horns poked out of the top of his head and his solemn looking eyes regarded the girl in front of him. The small dragon flew around Lucy's head, his movements cautious as he seemed to smell her before he landed on her right shoulder laying across the back of her neck and poking his head through her hair on the other side, blinking at the few strands that seemed to get stuck on his head and hang in his face. Lucy smiled and giggled at the small dragon's antics before it huffed and blew a small stream of fire at the strands in front of its face. Lucy yelped and flapped her arms wildly, trying to put out her burning hair. The dragon took off from his moving perch and watched curiously as Lucy tried to make the burnt strands unnoticeable.

After the spectacle finally settled down the two watched each other wearily. "Would you like to make a contract?" The small dragon let out a pleased little huff and cuddled up back on Lucy's shoulder. "Great!" Lucy then continued to go through the days of the week and for each day the dragon was available he would blow a small smoky check mark and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays he blew a small smoky X. Lucy asked his name and he communicated by blowing smoke letters. "Draco?" The dragon purred and nuzzled her a bit. "Well Draco I'm pleased to meet you and welcome to the team." The dragon let out an excited yip and promptly returned to the spirit world.

Lucy stood in the middle of her living room, not entirely sure what to do with herself. She could go to the guild but then no doubt the two loudest mages would be there. She needed money and she knew if she locked herself away Levy would kick her ass. The solid script mage was so little and sweet but she packed some power behind those words that would have the ability to knock Lucy on her ass. Usually on a day just after a mission she would take it easy, hang out with the team but that suddenly wasn't an option. Not that they wouldn't be happy to see her, she just wasn't ready to face the two boys.

"Maybe Erza will be available and she'll want to go on a mission or shopping. Oh or Wendy and I could go get ice cream!" She smiled and flounced to her bedroom to change out of her pjs, she was happy she had realized that although the pink haired mage and the small blue exseed where the prominent people in her life that didn't mean she didn't have other friends.

She turned to lock the door of her apartment wearing a short dark blue skirt with her ever present belt and a white off the shoulder t shirt and boots. She set out down the street calling on Plue to walk the canal with her. She walked in to the guild with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step, determined not to be seen upset. However as soon as she walked in, the smile fell from her face and her head whipped comically fast from side to side. The guild was nearly empty. Just the regulars, who never seemed to leave. No tall red head no tiny dragon slayer. She made her way to the bar and Mira silently placed a strawberry smoothie in front of her. "Thanks Mira. Where is everyone?"

Mira avoided eye contact with the blonde knowing that she would have a hard time keeping the pity off her face. The day before not long after the blonde had left the building the fire and ice mage came out to the guild and while everyone was happy for the two they all understood the affect this would have on the blonde. Suddenly it made sense why she was hardly seen in the guild since Christmas and why her tears the day before had been clear as day to the patrons of the guild. They had all sat there listening to the girls heart break before she had emerged from Laxus's office.

"Oh well um your team went on a mission. They were going to wait to see if you wanted to go but Natsu said he wasn't sure you wanted to see him for a bit." She sighed and made eye contact with the girl. "They didn't want to make it harder on you by constantly being around the guild. They took a pretty hard mission so for a while you wouldn't have to worry about constantly running in to them." Lucy slumped in her chair. She appreciated that her friend was trying to make things easier but had Erza and Wendy needed to go to? Lucy took a long draw of her drink and silently admonished herself, of course the two females had to go Erza would make sure the boys didn't do anything stupid and Mira had said it was a hard request Wendy most likely went to support and heal. But where did that leave her?

"They wanted you to go, you know, it hurts them all to go on a mission without you." Lucy looked up and saw Mira looking at the girl sadly. She gave the demon mage a small smile. "I know Mira." She stood up and took her drink with her to the job board looking for something that she would be able to do by herself. A large hand suddenly reached past her head and she startled, moving back a bit and bumping in to a large broad chest. She half turned and looked up to see two blue eyes looking down at her with a raised eye brow. He picked the piece of paper off the wall and moved his eyes from hers to the page. "You shouldn't go off in dreamland in the middle of the guild Blondie. "

Lucy huffed and stuck her tongue out at the blonde. He hadn't been looking at her so she was surprised when all of a sudden her tongue was gripped between his fingers and his face was right next to hers. His voice rumbled out in a quite menacing growl. "Don't stick that out at me unless you plan to use it." The blonde girl squeaked and her brown eyes were impossibly large and round.

The dragon slayer laughed and released the appendage which promptly returned to inside her mouth. After a minute the girl attempted to start conversation. "Are you going on a mission?" The taller blonde shrugged. "Ya the Raijinshu wanna go." His eyes slid from the paper to her for a second observing her reaction. "But I'll be back in the morning." The blonde nodded feeling a bit sad that everyone had something to do, and somewhere to go, but her. "Right well have fun!" Her voice was full of fake cheer and the dragon slayer frowned before walking back to his group.

/

The three others of the thunder god tribe watched the event and when Laxus returned they all began to speak up. Laxus could feel himself getting a head ache at the bantering, they were all speaking at the same time and it was getting on his nerves. He growled at them and they promptly shut up. He nodded and walked to the bar to hand Mira the paper and heard Bixlow from behind him. "Laxus has a thing for cosplay girl." His voice was easily heard by the dragon slayers hearing and he frowned at the teasing tone. Giving the visored mage the finger from over his shoulder.

/

Lucy had watched Laxus walk away from her then returned her attention to the board. All of these seemed to be out of her skill level unless she wanted to get severely beat up. "Maybe I'll take the time to try to get stronger so that when my team does return I don't have to rely on Natsu and Gray to save me." She smiled and her resolve was set. After breakfast she would begin training to become as strong as possible before her team came home.

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Well this is the latest installment, let me know what you think! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Ok so I almost called this chapter eye of the tiger :p but decided not to lol Well I'm back and i'm sorry the chapters have been taking longer unfortunately i actually have to leave my room sometimes . trust me i wish i didn't lol and I want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews and all the people favoring my story 3 makes me super happy and makes me want to write more so i don't disappoint ;) lol In this chapter you finally get a bit more LaLu and i assure you as the story develops there's more to come!

I do not own Fairy Tail nor any characters except Draco, silly little dragon lol

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Chapter 6: Training Montage

Over the next few days Lucy devoted herself to becoming stronger, every morning she would get up, jog to the guild where Mira would have breakfast prepared for her, then she would go to the back training area. For the first half of the day she would work on her magic with Capricorn. She had gotten to the point where she could summon just over half of her spirits and not pass out. The first time she had worked with Capricorn she had over reached and sent Loke in to a panic when she unexpectedly fainted. It had taken an hour and a half for them to revive her and then she had calmed the pacing lion down and sent him back.

It had been four days since that mishap and she had learned not to overdo it. As she worked it got easier and Lucy got stronger. However magical training was not the only thing they worked on. They were also improving her agility and practicing using her whip more often. Her spirits took too much amusement in setting up often very dangerous obstacle courses for her where she had to pay attention, be fast and hone her instincts to avoid getting hurt. She also worked with every one of her spirits to become a better team and learn to fight more with them. The one she liked working with the most was Draco who could lift her up and zip her around as if it was nothing. She understood now why Natsu liked flying with Happy so much.

As she worked with her spirits she felt a pang of loneliness, she missed her team. They had been gone for almost a week and every time she accomplished something or got stronger in some way she thought of how proud Erza and Natsu would be and wanted to show them what she could do. Thoughts of Natsu still made her sad but she was working on coming to terms with the change in their relationship. She knew he was trying to make it easier on her which she very much appreciated and she wanted to be able to greet him and gray with hugs when they returned. She knew it wouldn't stop hurting, not so soon but she could at the very least conceal the pain and act like she was ok.

Another form of training she completed was physical. She had never actually entered the fairy tail weight room before and when she did for the first time she gulped nervously.

_-Flashback_-

_Lucy slowly peeked her head around the corner and peered around the menacing room. She took two steps in and paused as she heard a loud grunting noise. The noise startled her and she jumped slightly. The motion was not missed by the figure in the weight room and a very distinctive laugh was uttered. She whipped around to see the iron dragon mage placing a bar with what looked like an impossible amount of weight back on to a stand. "Got lost bunny girl?" Lucy humphed and shook her head. "I'm here to train." The iron dragon snorted. "Gihihi sure thing girlie, good luck with that." _

_Lucy hid her pout from the man and mumbled to herself as she slowly made her way to the free weights trying in vain to lift a rather heavy weight. "You're just grumpy because Levy is on a mission and not here for you to tease." The dragon slayer didn't bother to dispute that and walked over to the blonde taking the weight she was struggling with and replacing it with one that was quite a bit lighter. _

_-End Flashback-_

Ever since that first day the two had fallen in to an unlikely routine. Lucy would work on her magic first thing in the morning while Gajeel did his workout then she would join him in the weight room and he would train her on the machines and the free weights.

/

Unbeknownst to the blonde girl her daily routine was being watched by a silent observer. Laxus would watch the blonde come in first thing in the morning and then would ignore Gajeels' silent snickers when he was caught watching them train. It wasn't until Levy came back from her mission that Gajeel pulled the lightning dragon slayer aside and half demanded he take over training the blonde so that Gajeel had more time to spend with the petit blue haired mage. Laxus agreed pretending to be put out that he had to sacrifice his time but he knew Gajeel wasn't fooled. The iron dragon slayer had known of the second generation's slayers feelings for the spirit mage for over a year and Laxus was grateful that Gajeel had kept it to himself upon threat of being pounded in to the ground if his secret got out.

/

Lucy had walked in to the gym that day and waited at least five minutes for Gajeel but he was nowhere to be seen. She sighed and began her daily work out wondering where the man was as he was usually there before her. She lay down on the bench and gripped the bar above her head. She always had Gajeel there to help her in case it got to heavy but she figured she would just be careful and do a little less than usual.

She fixed her grip on the bar and lifted it from its perch, carefully lowering it over her chest before pushing back up. She closed her eyes as her arms strained and tried to focus on her inner strength as she continued her reps. She sensed a hulking figure standing over her and sighed. "You're late" "Sorry." The voice startled the blonde and she almost dropped the weight on her chest, luckily two strong hands darted out and caught the falling weight lifting it back up and placing it back on its perch. Lucy sat up and twisted around looking up at the tall blonde behind her. "Laxus! You scared me I was expecting Gajeel." The blonde shrugged and held out a hand to help the girl stand up.

He followed her to the next machine and watched as she began her set on it, slightly surprised at the amount of weight she could handle. "He's with Levy. Asked me to come give you a hand." The girl smiled up at him and thanked him. She continued her regular workout and by the end of it was covered in sweat. Her hair was slightly matted, pieces falling out of the pig tails she wore it in and her clothes sticking to her skin.

Laxus's eyes roved over her figure and her scent caused his groin to tighten just a bit. She stood up and thanked him for his help. "You don't have to come help me tomorrow; I don't want to take up your time." Laxus shrugged. "It's fine I don't have any missions right now anyway." Lucy smiled brightly at the taller figure. "Thank you, I appreciate all of your help." Laxus understood that she wasn't just talking about spotting her in the gym but actually what had transpired early that week. He looked to the side, his face grumpy as usual. "Ya whatever, don't mention it."

The blonde girl stood to stretch and Laxus took the time to eye her supple curves devious idea lighting in his mind. "So Blondie, has Gajeel just been doing weights with you or has he been teaching you how to fight?" Lucy tilted her head to the side and considered the comment. "Well I've been working with my spirits on defense and a little bit of offense with my whip." Laxus shook his head and placed his hand firmly in the middle of her back, not too gently leading her towards the sparring mats that took up half the room. "A whip is all good when your long range but you gotta know how to fight someone who's up close and personal."

Lucy and Laxus stood opposite one another and Laxus lowered in to a defensive position. "Ok Blondie, come at me with everything you've got." The blonde girl took a minute or two to observe the situation and plan. When Laxus raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to come at him she did flinging herself at his body to try and tackle him to the ground. He moved fast sliding his body just to the side and using her momentum to bring her face down on to the mat. He kneeled over her, his legs on either side of her hips and his hand between her shoulders. "Nice try." She could hear the laughter in his voice and felt her face flame in embarrassment. She wiggled underneath him trying to get out of his hold. He stood up and offered her a hand, pulling her back on to her feet. "Again."

/

The combat training went on for another hour with Laxus trying to teach Lucy the proper way to throw a punch and make it hurt and Lucy ending up pinned beneath him again and again as he dodged all her efforts of knocking him down. After a particularly painful meeting with the ground for the blonde a small purple dragon popped in to existence right between the male and female mage. Draco growled at the lightning dragon and Laxus blinked in surprise before grinning and laughing. "Is he new?" Lucy nodded and struggled to sit up on the mat. "Ya his name is Draco. I made a contract with him after the mission we went on."

Laxus poked the small dragons' side and the dragon huffed at him blowing a small stream of fire at the blonde. "He doesn't seem to like me." Lucy laughed and plucked the small dragon from the air, cuddling him against her chest. The small dragon cuddled up and lay his head on the large pillow his master offered and began to purr. Laxus couldn't believe it but he actually felt a bit jealous of the spirit.

Laxus offered Lucy his hand to help pull her up and when he did, he used just a bit more force than necessary pulling her against his chest. The small dragon she was holding growled at him and Lucy laughed righting herself and taking a step back. She sent the little dragon back to the spirit world but before she did so Laxus was positive he saw the damn thing stick its tongue out at him. He was sure he was not going to get along with the newest addition to Lucy's spirits.

Laxus made plans with Lucy to meet the next day for her regular weight training and the added combat training. He watched the girl head toward the women's locker room and smiled gently. He had spent over an hour in the blonde's presence and she hadn't once mentioned the fire breathers' name. That had to be an improvement and once he was sure she was over the naïve pink haired mage he would start to make his attraction known to her.

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Ok another chapter finished. Let me know what you think ;) I'll try to post again soon and sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes


	7. Chapter 7

So I present to you another chapter! sorry this one is a little short and unfortunately every good story has a little filler. I just wanna give a quick shout out and a thank you to my reviewers I absolutely love getting your reviews and they really do inspire me to get the next chapter up :3

I do not own Fairy Tail or else someone would have boned by now like can that show have any more sexual tension?

Anyway enjoy!

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Chapter 7: Watching you, Watching me

It had been three days since he had started training Lucy and Laxus was sure it had become his favorite hobby. He couldn't help the teasing little touches he would give, adjusting her arms or legs while she was lifting weights as well as the wrestling matches. Those were the favorite part of his day. Full body contact with the beautiful blondes lushes body.

She had actually been improving too he was impressed with the amount of strength she had in those lithe limbs but the training she had been doing with Gajeel had actually begun to tone her. He could see the hint of muscles that would develop as long as she continued her work out. She was also very quick easily dodging his attacks which relied more on power then on accuracy. She would flit around the mat as he tried to grab at her, his fingers catching her hips before she squirmed out of his grasp and spun away.

He loved the time spent with her in the gym, after their sparring was done for the day they would collapse on the mats and talk. So far there was nothing life altering mostly just mild chit chat about the people in the guild but he craved those moments, wanting to learn more about how the blonde thought and felt. He had picked up just a little of her history from various guild members and a whole lot of eaves dropping that he would never admit to.

And just as much as he craved getting to know her he also craved watching her reactions to him. He caught all the subtle little signs that he was certain she wasn't even aware of, the times when he would catch her eyes tracking down his body, silently undressing him, or when her tongue would dart across her lips then her teeth would abuse it, pulling it in to her mouth and god when she did that he just wanted to grab hold of her and suck her lip out from her teeth, soothing it with his tongue. He also caught the subtle clench and shifting of her thighs when he would laugh.

Laxus lived for the chances to see her react to his body, it only fuelled his want and he had to fight not to just claim her there on the mats. They hadn't really discussed the pink haired idiot yet but he knew she still thought of him constantly every time she perfected a move or did something really well she would light up and go to say something then stop herself. Her eyes would fill with uncertainty and sadness and it was in those times that he knew she was thinking about how proud Natsu would be and wanting him to see her improvement.

/

Lucy lay back on the mats, feeling the cold ground beneath. Laxus was settled next to her leaning back on one arm. They were both breathing harshly, ok she lied she was breathing harshly he looked like he had just gone for a leisurely stroll. She rolled her head to the side to look at him. Her eyes silently tracing the muscles in his shirt and how when he shifted a tiny bit they moved fluidly under his skin. She had noticed that he made her feel warmer than usual and she was already drenched in sweat from her work out.

Her shirt stuck to her like a second skin and her hair was plastered to her face. She looked back up to the ceiling. She had been working with Laxus for close to a week and a half and the next day her team was due back. She was nervous about seeing Natsu. She missed him and while her team had been away she had had a lot of time to think and discuss the situation with Levy.

She wanted Natsu to be happy and although she was sad that she couldn't make him happy she was glad that Gray could. She missed the whole team and although she spent quite a bit of time with levy she knew Gajeel was getting annoyed and she was starting to feel lonely.

Usually her time with Laxus was the only time of the day she wasn't thinking about her situation and about Natsu. Laxus kept her busy and there was no time to think about the pink haired dragon slayer when the wall of muscle and gorgeousness stood in front of her.

She knew she had a growing attraction for her gruff trainer, heck she would be crazy not to notice how attractive he was especially with all of the small teasing touches. She shivered partially from thinking about her trainer/friend? She wasn't sure what to refer to him as. She had also shivered because his fingers were slowly and gently dancing along her side trying to get her attention. She swiveled her head to look up at him.

He was gazing down at her with raised eyebrows. "Earth to Blondie." She grinned and smacked his hand away, her fingers lingering on his skin before she sat up and stretched. "What do you want sparky?" She had titled him the nickname one day when he had gotten in to a starring contest with Draco and his whole body literally crackled with tension, electricity dancing over his skin, it's safe to say the tiny purple dragon won that one. "I wanted to know if tomorrow night you would join me for dinner." She grinned devilishly at him, "You mean like a date?"

Laxus rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "Just though you might need a break and someone to talk to tomorrow." She bit her lip and looked down. Her team was coming back tomorrow. Natsu was coming back tomorrow. And she was determined to greet him with a hug and a smile. She wouldn't let her feelings get in the way of friendship and after he had been gone so long just for her benefit he deserved nothing less than a happy welcome.

Lucy tucked some hair behind her ear and peered at the large blonde nervously. "That would be ok? I don't want to be a bother." The male scoffed and ruffled her hair "Blondie if it was a bother I wouldn't have asked."

Lucy suddenly had a new appreciation for everything Laxus had done for her, for being there for her when she needed him. Taking her on the mission, staying with her while she cried over Natsu and distracting her while helping her train. Now this. She mustered up all the courage she had and leaned over to throw her arms around the blonde's neck. She felt him stiffen underneath her touch. "Thank you Laxus. Thank you so much for being my friend when I really needed one."

She felt him loosen up and wrap his arms around her waist shivering from her warm breathe hitting his ear. "Anytime Blondie. Just know you're stuck with me now." She laughed and pulled out of the hug, his arms reluctantly leaving her body. "I'd love to have dinner with you tomorrow." She stood up and began to leave the room to head to the girls showers turning to wave goodbye as she went and not noticing the way his eyes trained on her swaying hips.

/

Laxus crashed down on the mat and groaned. He didn't know why he had suggested dinner he had just known that tomorrow she would be sad and he didn't want to ever see her sad again. "Dammit Laxus if you screw this up for yourself and make a move on her I swear to god I'll never forgive myself." She wasn't ready. She still thought she had feelings for the flame brained idiot even though he knew better, what she had with Natsu was comfort. Natsu had always been there for her but now Laxus wanted to be the one to protect the blonde. He would make her realize that the unknown, while dangerous could be fun, just not yet. "She's not ready for you yet. But soon." He half spoke to himself half spoke to the organ hiding in his pants although the latter didn't want to seem to listen. He sighed and slouched back down, he was not looking forward to the cold shower he seemed to take after every one of their training sessions.

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Thanks for reading and as always let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everybody!  
Sooo sorry this took so long, I promise I'll try for more regular updates.

As usual I own nothing.

Let me know what you think and enjoy! And please by the end of the chapter try to keep the pitch forks to yourself .

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Chapter 8: The heroes return

Lucy breathed in deep and then out slowly. Her and Laxus were circling each other one feinting to the side to see if the other would fall for it. Neither of them did. Finally Laxus shot forward, his arm out to grab the blonde's waist. He was not, however expecting her to duck down, then when he had passed her kick out at the back of his knee, and if he wasn't expecting that he most definitely wasn't expecting the calculating hit to take him to the ground. He hit and then rolled as the blonde pounced forward, attempting to pin him. She danced just out of his reach as he righted himself and they began to circle once more.

"Come on Blondie, remember I'm trying to teach you offense which means you have to attack." The girl shrugged. "Sure but my spirits are teaching me tactics and I know better, if I blindly attack you'll take me down and today is the day I win." He laughed loudly "If it makes you happy thinking you'll best me then feel free to see me in your dreams tonight cause that's the only time it'll happen."

Lucy observed his cocky attitude and saw that she had begun to lull him in to a false sense of accomplishment. Finally she attacked, she leapt forward attempting to hit him with a solid punch but he caught her wrist in his hand pulling her back against his chest. She felt him pull her close and could have sworn she felt him lean in to smell her neck but ignored it and whipped her head back smashing the back of her skull in to his face then hooking her foot around his ankle and tugging forward. He had let go of her wrist so she spun around as he fell, straddling his waist and holding his shoulders down.

They sat for a minute, her on top of him in stunned silence which was broken by a high pitch screech. "Oh my god I did it!" She was grinning and laughing and threw herself down to lie on top of him and hug him around the neck. Laxus couldn't stop the small proud smile at her accomplishment and slid an arm around her waist.

The two lay in happy silence for a moment, Lucy giggling periodically before they heard clapping from the door way. They both looked over and Lucy stilled for just a moment before she wrenched herself away from Laxus and raced to the door flinging herself in to the open arms of the armour clad red head. "Erza! I'm so happy you're back I missed you so much! How are you, is everyone ok? Is… Is everyone back?" She had been babbling a mile a minute until the last few words left her mouth in an almost breathless whisper.

Erza held her friend close and nodded. "I missed you too Lucy and we're all fine and we're all home." Her voice was gentle and she glanced over at Laxus waggling an eyebrow at him about the position she had found them in. Lucy pulled back and the red heads attention was drawn back to the slim blonde girl in front of her. "We all missed you Lucy. I think Happy brought you a fish." The blonde girl giggled, her eyes blurry from the tears she was holding back at being with her friend. She hadn't realised how much she had missed them, all of them. "Are they here?" Erza nodded and Lucy looked back at Laxus uncertainly. "Well are you going to go say hi and beat the crap outta them, to show them how much we've been training?" The celestial mage nodded.

She glanced at Erza hesitantly before making her way back to Laxus and speaking quietly "Thank you Laxus." He rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair, "Ya, ya get in there and say hi to your boys." She nodded her head once and spun around to take off to the front of the guild, turning back half way across the room to shout back at him. "I'll come find you later!" He gave her a two finger salute and she bounced out of the room.

Laxus wearily looked at the reequip mage. "She'll find you later?" He scowled at the red head and shoved his way out of the room heading to the guys showers and missing the dangerous glint in the red heads eye. Laxus and Lucy were perfect, how had she never noticed it before? She would have to talk to Mira about this.

/

Lucy took a deep breath and felt her body tremble as she stood in the hallway leading to the main room of the guild. She could hear the chatter and yelling which was normal in the rowdy building but seemed much louder than usual. She slowly walked in to the room and instantly spotted the two male mages that had been gone for so long. She walked up to them and waited quietly for the pink haired male to turn around. A hush swept across the room as he spun to face her almost rushing forward to envelope her in a hug before he hesitated.

The two stood in silence both unsure how to proceed before Lucy was shoved out of the way by the blue haired rain mage. Juvia got up in Natsu's face and glared at him, her eyes sparking dangerously. "Juvia just wants you to know that you may have gray-sama's interest now but I will not lose to you, love rival!" She spun on her heel and nodded a greeting at the stunned blonde.

Lucy and Natsu watched Juvia storm away then turned to look at each other wearing identical masks of disbelief. Natsu grinned first and Lucy followed shortly after, both breaking in to body wracking laughter. Natsu opened his arms and Lucy launched herself in to them holding tight to her partner. "I missed you" Lucy began to sob at Natsu's words and the shaking of her body went from laughter to sobs.

Natsu held the crying girl close and then she backed up and swung her fist in to his gut. Natsu doubled over and Lucy furiously wiped at the tears streaming down her face. "I swear to god Natsu you better not go on any more quests without me." Natsu grinned at her from his hunched over position. "Wouldn't think of it Luce."

Lucy saw Gray standing off to the side, grinning at the two and she launched herself at him as well. He flinched, worried he would receive the same hit that his lover had gotten but instead Lucy wrapped her arms around him. "I'm glad you're both back." Gray relaxed, holding her close. "Glad to be back."

/

The entire spectacle was observed by the guild members in the hall and a raucous cheer went through the crowd before the noise level returned to normal everyone questioning the returned mages about the trip.

Meanwhile a pair of blue eyes observed a laughing blonde with tears streaming down her face. He was glad she was ok and was partially saddened that he would have less time with her now that her team was back. He couldn't wait until later that night when he could spend time with the blonde without having to dodge her attacks.

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I know I know everyone was looking forward to the date, please try not to kill me! If only just so that I can write you another chapter :p

Please let me know what you think and review! Seriously I'm like living off them and fumes at the moment not sure how I haven't just collapsed but I will fight through it to get you more chapters so please show me some love ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Okay i'm back with the long awaited chapter :) hopefully you all aren't too mad about how long it took and hopefully you enjoy this on, it was a bit difficult because i had so many ideas on how i wanted the date to go then i just started writing and it all fell together.

Disclaimer: I own nothing about fairy tail

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Chapter 9: The Forbidden Dance

Lucy stood in her closet rifling through her many outfits as she tried to pick out something to wear for her upcoming date. She poked her head out of her closet, her eyes running over the three women sitting on her bed as if to assure herself they hadn't disappeared. "It's so good to have you guys back." She frowned at the clothing before her and leaned against the closet door, looking at her friends happily.

Wendy was the first to respond "It's good to be back Lucy, everyone missed you while we were gone. Natsu felt really bad that you weren't with us." Her voice became slightly hushed as she spoke the last sentence uncertainly. Lucy looked down at the ground with a sad smile. "I understand. And I appreciate what he did for me. What you all did." Levy stood from the bed and embraced the blonde tightly. "While I was still here I'm sorry I wasn't with you as much as I should have been."

Lucy shook her head and hugged her friend back. "Oh don't worry one bit about that Levy I've been busy training and Laxus has been keeping me company." "Ya whats with that? Does that mean you're over Natsu?" The blonde blushed brightly and shoved her blue haired friend playfully. "He's been a really great friend and I love Natsu I don't think that's going to go away hopefully I'll be able to learn to love him as a friend instead as a lover." The solemn red head finally piped up, adding to the conversation. "While after what I saw in the gym today I don't think it will be too difficult because that did not look like friendship to me. Laxus looked about two minutes away from taking you on the training mats." The smallest women in the room blinked in shock and Levy broke down in giggles as Lucy turned about three different shades of red. "Erza!" The red head shrugged and ruffled Wendy's hair. "What? It was just an observation."

Lucy turned back to her closet "There is no way Laxus is interested in me like that. He has never once made a move on me." The red head stood from the bed and joined Lucy in the closet. "I have known Laxus for a long time and trust me he is definatly interested he just didn't want to make a move on you while you were still upset. But you have been doing much better since we left." She pulled a top off the rack and tossed it at the busty blonde. She followed that up with a black flowy skirt that hit mid-thigh and knee high boots. "You won't want to dress up too much but you still want to show off your assets."

Lucy was dumbstruck but new better then to go against her friend's judgment. She quickly changed in to the the top which was a light blue off the shoulder top that showed quite a bit of cleavage and into to the skirt and shoes. She spun in a circle and held her hands up for judgment from her friends and was met with a round of clapping from the three girls. Erza then sat her down and began to work on her hair. "Where is Laxus taking you anyway Lucy?" Lucy peered at the small dragon slayer from the corner of her eyes. "I have no idea. He just offered me company after speaking to Natsu and I feel really comfortable with Laxus around" The girls all shared sly little smiles with each other as Lucy sat in the chair blushing helplessly. "Come on guys it's not like that!" Erza nodded solemnly trying hard not to smile. "Of course it isn't Lucy.

She stepped away from the seated blonde and Lucy peered in to the mirror. "Oh Erza it looks great! Thank you!" Her hair had been parted in to two pig tail braids her bangs lightly framing her face. She stood from the seat and gave her friend a hug. "Yu better not be going on any missions without me missy." The red head shook her head. "Of course not you're the only one Natsu listens to." All three girls laughed and talked for another two hours until it was about time for Laxus to pick up Lucy. The three girls gave the blonde tight hugs before they left. Lucy slowly paced her apartment and tried to calm herself down. Before Erza's comment she hadn't been the least bit nervous however now that she thought maybe the large dragon slayer was interested she had no idea how to act or what to do with herself.

The knock at the door startled her and she took a deep calming breathe before she went to answer it.

/

Laxus stood at the blonde's door for at least five minutes before knocking. Not because he was nervous or scared but because he could hear her. Hear her pacing and her heavy breathing as well as her quickly beating heart. He stifled a smile and knocked on the door. He heard her breathe stop as well as the pacing before she took a long deep breathe and opened the door He unconsciously mimicked her actions by taking a deep breath and it helped calm him slightly. When she opened the door his eyes widened a fraction of an inch and he let them trail over her body and the showing curves.

"Hey Blondie. How are you holding up?" Lucy smiled shyly at the large male in front of her and shrugged. "I'm doing ok. So what do you have planned for the night?" He took a step back, making room for her to come out in to the hall and waited while she locked up her apartment. "Well I thought we could do a little training." Her head whipped up and around, her eyes wide. "Training? Should I go get changed?" Laxus shook his head and placed an arm around her shoulders leading the fretful girl away from her door. "Nah it's not that kind of training."

/

The small female took in his appearance from her peripherals as she walked beside him. He was in nicely fitting black dress pants and had a maroon oxford shirt on with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She began to wonder if she should have worn something nicer.

"Okay so what kind of training?" "While, you've been doing pretty well with speed and power and I noticed that you keep on the move which is good. This kind of training will help hone that aspect of fighting. Keeping light on your feet and constantly in motion. We are going Salsa dancing."

Lucy stopped in her tracks and was quickly propelled in to movement again by the arm on her shoulders. "Salsa? Are you sure that will help in fighting?" Laxus nodded "yes I'm sure. This particular type of dance is all about constantly moving and having control over your body. It will train you to move in a three step time and will teach you to properly circle your opponent and it will teach you how to take the lead. If you can keep the lead in the dance you can lead in a fight. Salsa teaches you to keep your bottom half fluid and in constant motion with your hips but will keep your upper body tight and in control not giving away any of your movements to your opponent."

As Laxus explained he moved both hands to the blonde's hips then lightly caressed up her sides to rest heavily on her shoulders. He smiled lightly at the shiver that went through her body. "I've noticed when we fight that you are very easy to read which is one of the main reasons your opponent will always win. If they know which way you're going or which way your body is heading then they know how to counter." Lucy nodded at his explanation and was glad that the skirt Erza had chosen was not tight as that may make this type of dance difficult. "So you've been trained how to Salsa?" Laxus nodded "Ya Gramps had me learn it but I think he just wanted to laugh at watching me dance." Lucy laughed and felt herself relax as they traded funny stories about his salsa lessons and her classical training on the way to the dance studio.

/

Lucy stared in awe around the dance studio. The room was lined in mirrors like most were and she watched as Laxus strode over to a wall to a small lacrima run sound system similar to his sound pods but that which pushed the sound out instead of inverting it. He fiddled with the system and a fast beat filled the room. He glanced over at the girl that was spinning in slow circles watching her skirt flutter around her legs. Mile long legs that he couldn't tear his eyes from.

Laxus stood and leaned against the wall, watching her move. "You really only need to know the basics to help your fighting stance. Get use to the steps ad how to hold your body. Gramps had me go through a couple of lessons then when I got the hang of it he gave me his blessing to quit." He stalked forward, eying the nimble blonde like prey. "He doesn't know I kept going to classes. Kept learning. But this particular type of dance can be quite a turn on. Or so I'm told." He stopped behind her and placed his hands on her hips, leaning his face in close to speak softly in her ear. "It's a basic three step, like so." He used his hands on her hips as well as his body pressed against hers to manipulate her body in to making the basic forward back motion.

Lucy felt her heart race and she bit her lip. She hadn't expected her body to react so strongly to his presence and to his body being so close. She stumbled slightly and his hands on her hips tightened the large appendages radiating heat through her shirt. She felt him slowly back away and began to stop. "Keep going." He urged, his hands remaining firmly on her hips. He helped her add a bit of swing in to her hips but when her torso began to follow and her shoulders began to move side to side he ran his hands firmly up her sides his fingertips brushing just faintly against the side of her chest before pressing firmly in to her shoulders. "Keep your top half still. Salsa dancing is mostly leg work and foot work, sometimes arms and hands but your torso and shoulders should remain firm." Lucy was quickly getting the feel for this dance her classical training helping her pick up the moves easily however hindering her performance.

"You're stiff." Laxus breathed against the back of Lucy's neck and melded his body tight against her back trying to make her mimic his fluid movement. He could hear her breathing hitch and hid the smile against the side of her neck. His hands had moved back down to her hips and his chest was pressed tightly to her back to keep her torso still while his legs and hips moved within inches of her own. He backed away completely before she realized how much difficulty he was having being pressed against her and watched her move to the beat of the music on her own.

Laxus nodded approvingly and stopped her movements coming to stand in front of her. "Good you're a quick learner. Now that you have a fairly good hold on the basics let's dance." Lucy looked up startled from where she had been watching her feet. "But I don't know it yet!" Laxus chuckled and moved in placing her left hand on his shoulder and placing his right hand in the middle of her back. His elbow up and supporting hers. He clasped her right hand in his left after tilting her head up from where she was looking down.

"All you need is a good lead. If you have a good lead doesn't matter how bad you are at dancing you will have little control other than going where I want you. If you can master this in dancing you can master manipulating a fight by leading." Laxus waited for the right beat before he began to move. Lucy quickly fell in to the three steps letting him sweep her around the room. "Keep moving the same three steps if I want to spin you or circle you I will put some pressure toward the side I want you to go and my arm will follow through, leading you to the right position. You will always continue those three steps no matter which way we go or if I'm spinning you, keep those three steps." He followed this up by ding a half circle swishing her around his body and turning his own s they were facing their previous positions.

Lucy giggled and began to relax in to Laxus's lead. Every once in a while she would tense up or resist a movement however Laxus effortlessly manipulated her body to move how he wanted it to, his hand holding her torso straight and steady and his feet never faltering in their movement. He executed an effortless spin, pulling Lucy close to his body so now they were moving right up against each other. He leaned down to her ear, not even out of breathe. "First you need to be able to lose control before you can master taking it." Lucy shivered at the low timber in her ear and felt her body tense as the sound of his voice made her inner muscles clench around nothing.

/

The two had continued dancing for a while, Laxus effortlessly moving Lucy around the room in simple steps then spinning her and dipping her. The first time he had done it she had freaked out and he had almost dropped her flailing body. He laughed loudly and righted her and kept her moving, not stopping for a second.

The two now sat in the middle of the room and had been for the last twenty minutes carrying on idle conversation and getting to know each other a bit more. "Thank you for doing this Laxus I really appreciate it. Not only was I training but it was a lot of fun and it really takes all of your concentration." She pulled her knees up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them, laying her head on the tops of her knees.

"Concentration eh? I'm glad I could take your mind off stuff. But now that we're done dancing do you want to talk about it?" Lucy shrugged and sighed. "I don't know if there is really much to talk about. I missed them all terribly when they were gone and I'm so relieved their home, all of them. Gray and Natsu are my family I just thought that maybe Natsu could have been more." Laxus blew out the air he was holding. "Ya Blondie you and everyone else in that damn guild. So what are you going to do about it? Sit and mope?" Lucy shot the tall male a glare, the saying if looks could kill floated through his brain. "No I'm not going to mope. I'll put on a smile and deal with it." She shrugged. "Not much more I can do." Laxus sat up from his leaning position and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "You can be happy and work on getting over it instead of dealing with it. Don't resign yourself to that fate, find someone who makes you smile and makes your heart race in ways flame brain never could. And if you need some time to be sad or someone to help you when it's tough then you've got me. But I swear to god Blondie if you cry on me I'll beat you up."

Lucy laughed and turned to hug the dragon slayer. "Thank you Laxus. You know maybe if you didn't look so scary all the time the rest of the guild would get to know this side of you." Laxus snorted and ruffled the blonde's hair. "I try to look scary for that exact reason." He grinned and Lucy smiled back.

/

The two walked down the quite streets of magnolia. They had stayed at the studio until late in to the evening talking and dancing. Now Laxus was walking the petit blonde to her door, preparing to say goodnight even though he wanted nothing more than to follow her inside and continue talking. He had never found a person as interesting as the blonde. At first he had thought she had been a hot bimbo back in the days when he had been an ass but the female had so much depth to her and such a strong character that he felt drawn in and could sit and listen to her opinions and dreams all night.

Unfortunately they came to her door and Laxus was not about to invite himself in like her team would have. "Thank you for tonight Laxus. It was a lot of fun, but I don't know how much it will help with my fighting, are you sure you didn't make it up?" He shrugged and gave her a mischievous half smile. "Who knows maybe, maybe not." He leaned in and pulled her in to a hug ruffling her hair and holding on to her for just a beat longer than necessary. "Good night Blondie." He spun around and made his way down the front steps. Lucy stood speechless as she watched Laxus get farther down the street. Finally she gathered her wits and yelled out to him. "You're blonde to you idiot!" She could imagine the mocking half smile on his face and saw him hold up two fingers in a half wave over his shoulder. "Stupid hot dragon slayer and his stupid sexy dancing." Lucy huffed and stormed in to her apartment to get ready for bed.

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Okay so let me know what you think :) I kind of most definitely made up the stuff abut salsa dancing helping them fight but the idea took hold and i ran with it so hopefully it's written in a believable way :p Thank you for reading and i'll try not to take as long next time :p gotta hate when life gets in the way


	10. Chapter 10

Alright I'm back! and i know it's been a while and I'm sorry, i was having a bit of a mental block on how to continue which is also my excuse as to why this is so short. But now that this is out there I can move the story forward which you have all been waiting for patiently :) and i want to thank every one who is liking, following and reviewing this story, you really do keep me going

I own nothing!

So! on with the story!

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Chapter 10: What's Normal Mean?

Over the course of the next few days Lucy and Laxus met in the morning for training, often getting lunch together after, and Lucy spent more and more time with Natsu trying to redefine their relationship. Both were awkward around each other, unsure how to act and what was ok. It didn't take them long to fall back in to old habits, however gestures and looks that Lucy use to believe were flirting and signs of interest she know understood were just how Natsu was. Her best friend was affectionate toward her and as they spent more time together the hints of attraction became full blown sibling love. Lucy still felt pains in her heart every once in a while when she saw the way the pink haired male would gaze at his counterpart when he thought no one was looking. She was beginning to understand however that the pang of longing she felt was not for Natsu but more for the idea of someone looking at her like that. Too bad for the beautiful blonde she never noticed a certain male giving her the exact same looks.

Lucy and Natsu weren't the only ones redefining their relationship. Natsu and Gray it seemed often walked the line between love and hate, their love was passionate and often times destructive and as they navigated their feelings for each other they had to learn to navigate their relationship with the guild. The guild was family and was just as understanding and supportive as every person could hope their family would be. Mira and the master however were getting very tired of replacing the furniture. Everyone was sure that the two would calm down and be making out more than fighting but if anything they broke more furniture than ever. The two would get in to an explosive fight destroy the guild hall then lock themselves in a room to make up.

The guild was mostly used to their antics and all was normal. Natsu however had the added worry of watching out for his life as his relationship with Gray deepened. Juvia was hiding around every corner watching him and plotting him severe harm. This made most of the other guild members snicker amongst themselves and there was a betting pool that Gajeel was certain he would win. He was betting Natsu was going to get crushed by Juvia, possibly drowned.

As the guild and its relationships evolved and grew in different ways a certain blonde dragon slayer stood in the shadows getting more and more frustrated with the lack of growth in his own relationship. His eyes tracked the blondes movements around the guild when she was with her friends and when they worked out together he couldn't stop himself from finding any reason possible to touch her skin however other than their workouts Lucy seemed content to spend most of her time with the idiot flame brain. It was quite possible Natsu should be watching out for more than just Juvia as Laxus was sure if the pink haired nim rod slung his arm around Lucy's shoulders one more time, so casually like Laxus was unable to do, then he was going to snap his neck.

/

Lucy grinned as she walked in to the guild hall bright and early one morning. Things were going great and she was more than happy to have her team back and things going back to normal. It was the one day a week she didn't train with Laxus and she felt her heart sink just a bit at the thought that she wouldn't get to see him today. As soon as she walked in to the building her eyes roamed the room for a tall muscular body and a mass of blonde spiky hair. She found him leaning against the railing of the second floor, his back toward her and the rest of the hall as he spoke to his team. She stood there starring at the back of his head not noticing the odd looks his team was throwing her over his shoulder until Natsu and Happy entered the room and shouted her name.

Lucy jumped and spun around smiling brightly at the two and calmly saying her own greeting. Of course as soon as she turned around Laxus peered back at her, his eyes studying the way her hair caressed her shoulder blades and the way her short skirt hugged her hips, showing off her perfect ass and long legs. He felt his pants tighten just a bit and attempted to subtly adjust himself. The thunder god tribe all gave each other knowing looks. They would have to be dumb, deaf and blind to not know that their leader was falling for the celestial mage.

They watched Laxus watch Lucy as her and Natsu walked to the job board laughing and chatting away before joining Erza and Wendy at a table. Bixlow grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Freed and Evergreen. The two shot him warning looks but he just winked as his tongue wagged out of his mouth. Bixlow sidled up to the railing, leaning next to his friend. "Ya know boss if you don't make your move soon I might just go down there and snag cosplay girl right out from under ya. I bet she would be wild in bed." Laxus growled and gave Bixlow the deadliest look any of them had ever seen. "You wouldn't dare." His voice was a rumble in his throat causing Freed and Evergreen to take a few steps back.

Bixlow raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Well are you going to go down there and ask her out?" Laxus didn't respond instead turning his head to watch the blonde girl smile and laugh. "Didn't think so." Next thing Laxus knew, Bixlow was marching down the stairs and straight toward Lucy's table. Laxus frowned and gripped the banister tightly, the wood creaking under his fingers.

He watched Bixlow sidle up beside Lucy and practically drape himself over her, his chest pressed to her back and his arms caging her in with his hands resting lightly on the table. Every one in the guild had stopped to see what Bixlow wanted with the celestial mage. The protesting wood under Laxus' hands started to crack.

Bixlow placed his face right next to the blondes and as he whispered in her ear Laxus watch her face go white and then an alarming shade of red. Unknown to Laxus there had been a steady growl rumbling from his chest that warned the other half of the thunder god tribe that Bixlow was gambling with his life right now. Suddenly Lucy let out a choking noise, coughing and trying to clear her airways. Bixlow laughed and lifted his eyes to look up at the second floor. Catching Laxus' eyes and holding them for very long minute before his agile tongue snaked out and licked the side of the blonde's neck.

Four things happened simultaneously. Natsu grabbed Bixlow and tossed him in to a table splitting it in half, Erza reequipped and there were at least thirty swords pointing at the spot Bixlow was laying on the ground, Lucy turned so many shades of red that they may have needed to invent a few new colours and Laxus broke the railing and jumped from the second floor to the landing below marching right to Lucy and picking her up from the bench she was sitting on, flinging her over his shoulder and storming out of the hall.

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As usual please let me know what you think and i'm sorry it is so short. Until next time ;)


	11. Chapter 11

First thing first i am soooo sorry i've been M.I.A it's been tough finding time to write and inspiration but i will get you guys this full story even if it kills me ;)

and i love hearing that you guys like it and want it to continue it really helps me get started on each new chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Fairy Tail except for a nifty little pack of playing cards :p

So without further ado i present to you, the next chapter!

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Chapter 11: The beginning of happiness

Laxus was fuming as he stormed down the street, a squirming blonde tossed over his shoulder. His eyes glared daggers at the civilians of Magnolia that watched them go by. Lucy's face was a brilliant red. She was half mad that Laxus had picked her up in front of the guild, half embarrassed by what Bixlow had said and done and a whole lot of uncomfortable with how her skirt was riding up as they made their way through town. "Laxus?….Laxus…..LAXUS"

"WHAT?" Lucy suddenly found her feet on the ground and his hands holding tightly to her hips as he glowered down at her. Lucy raised an eyebrow and pointed to the building beside them. "This is my apartment." Laxus starred at the door for a minute then huffed in annoyance and shouldered his way through the door and in to the lobby of the building.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle and follow him in to the room. By the time Lucy got to her apartment Laxus was pacing across her living room. She shook her head gently and made her way to the kitchen pulling out some mugs and filling a kettle with water. She set the kettle to boil and walked back to the kitchen where she saw Laxus standing dangerously still. She watched him for a moment then walked over to the couch and sat down. His eyes tracked her movement and as soon as she was sitting he began to pace again.

Lucy could hear faint mumbling coming from the irritated Dragon slayer and every time he walked past her she heard snippets of what he was saying. "Fucking bastard….. Gonna smash his face in… Can't believe he had the guts." She tried to hide her smile at his reaction and her face turned a rosy shade of red as Bixlows words rang through her head. _"Hey cosplay girl. There is someone in this room that can't stop thinking about you, under him in bed, screaming his name. He likes you and I can't say I blame him but he needs a little bit of help." _That's when he had licked her neck and that's when Laxus had broken the railing and stormed off with her over his shoulder.

Lucy watched him pace and wondered if what Bixlow had said was true. Clearly Laxus felt something to have such a strong reaction. The pink in her cheeks deepened at the mental image of him on top of her in bed. He was massive and muscular and the thought made the room feel a bit warm. She stood and moved in to the path of his pacing. She was a little nervous but she was Lucy Heartfillia dammit and she wasn't scared to get what she wanted.

Laxus spun around to pace the other way and almost bowled Lucy over. He caught her around the waist before she could fall and pulled her upright against his body. Her hands rested on his chest and she peeked up at him coyly. "You know Laxus, I think you're over reacting." Laxus's eyes bulged. "Over reacting?! He licked you Lucy!" She smirked just a little bit and cocked her hip to the side, her fingers gently trailing along the fabric of his shirt. "Your point?"

This move was risky on her part and she watched him search her face before a slow devilish smile curled across his lips. One of the arms around her hips tightened and the other hand cupped the back of her neck. His voice was just above a growl and sent shivers down her spine. "I don't like when people touch what's mine." Finally his lips were on hers, hot and demanding and making her head spin. She clung tightly to his shoulders as his presence drowned her in heat. It felt like electricity and she wasn't sure if it was all the pent up emotions and frustrations flowing out of her or if he was losing control of his magic.

Laxus parted from Lucy then placed another, gentler kiss on her slightly parted lips, his hands roamed across her skin and up the back of her shirt. She was panting and he seemed to be supporting most of her weight but in his opinion it was the most perfect kiss, and he couldn't help but want more.

Lucy took the time he was allowing her to catch her breath and couldn't help the taunting quip. "I hope you know I'm not a possession you can claim." Laxus raised an eyebrow and leaned down to gently trail his lips along her neck. He felt her shiver and grinned as he carefully nipped her earlobe then blew warm air across the wet skin. "I don't think you realise how much I've been holding back Blondie. And if you think that now that I have you in my arms I'm going to let some other guy take you away then you're crazy. You aren't a possession but you're still mine."

Lucy leaned up on her tip toes to kiss him again, trailing her tongue along his bottom lip. "I guess I can live with that." Laxus grinned at the teasing tone of voice. The woman in his arms was a little minx and he couldn't help but enjoy the banter they had going between kisses and nips. He pulled her body tight against his own feeling her soft curves and attacked her mouth again, his tongue snaking in and rubbing along her own, coaxing it out to play. Her low moan made him shift uncomfortably as he felt the blood in his body begin to flow north.

"Lucy." She whined when he slowly peeled her off his body. "We need to stop." She looked almost hurt. "Why, you seemed like you were enjoying it." He held her at arm's length and his eyes slowly roamed over her flushed skin and heaving chest as she sucked in lung fulls of air. "Oh trust me I would love to continue and if you were any other woman I would already have you stripped and screaming my name." He watched her rub her thighs together uncomfortably.

Lucy didn't seem to have any objections to that option but Laxus steeled his resolve. "Lucy we have spent a lot of time together over the past few months and when I'm in that type of situation, it's just sex, I take what I want then I leave." That seemed to cool her down a bit and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't want that. Here with you, I want to take my time exploring your body, finding all the spots that will make you squirm I want to bring you to the peak of pleasure over and over again." The heat was back in her eyes and he had to hold her body still, at arm's length so she couldn't reattach her body to his and break the fragile control he had.

"I want that too." Her voice was breathy and her eyes dark. Laxus took a deep breathe he was going against every instinct in his body that told him to pin her to the nearest surface. But Laxus knew Lucy. Knew that she could get carried away with her emotions and a situation, knew that she was much more fragile than she let on. Knew that although she was strong she was also emotional and would not take kindly to rushing things once her mind had cleared.

He sighed and pulled her in to a gentle hug, whispering in to her hair. "I want all of that but I also want to find all the things that make you smile and laugh I want to hold you when your upset and I want to get to know all about your history and find out how you've become the strong, sexy, amazing girl in my arms. And I want to share myself with you. I want to take my time." Lucy melted in to his arms at his words and hid her smile against his chest.

She was at a loss for words and therefor said the first thing that popped in to her head. "I think that is the most you've ever said to me that didn't involve a sarcastic comment." They both laughed and he pulled her in to another gentle kiss, being careful to control the amount of passion that wanted to pour out of him. He wanted this to be gentle and sweet. "So that's a yes?" Lucy laughed and nodded. "Yes you big lug." The moment was broken by the tea kettle whistling and they smiled at each other before Lucy rushed to the kitchen to prepare the tea.

/

The next morning Lucy woke up and smiled to herself remembering an evening of her and Laxus talking, drinking tea and kissing. He left at a decent hour giving her a long, smoldering kiss goodnight that left her breathless.

She almost didn't want to get out of bed, she wanted to stay right where she was snuggled up in her blankets and basking in the memory. The only thing that she desired more was actually going to the guild to see the dragon slayer. "Oh god the guild." She groaned and pulled her blanket up over her head. Last time she had seen the guild was as she exited tossed over Laxus's shoulder like a cave woman. She seriously debated staying in bed then sighed and threw off her blanket to head to the shower.

After choosing an outfit and pulling her hair in to her usual up do. She attached her whip and her keys to her belt and made her way out the door. As Lucy exited the building she was surprised to see a muscular body with spiky blonde hair leaning on the wall beside the steps with his head down.

A smile spread across her face and a light blush spread across her cheeks. "Laxus?" He didn't move. She walked up to him and was about to touch his arm when it shot out and wrapped around her waist. Pulling her up against his chest. His head remained bowed and his eyes closed and she could see the sound pods covering his ears. She blinked in surprise wondering how he knew she was there as the music was loud enough for her to hear.

His eyes slowly opened and he pulled her face close coaxing her lips open with his own and exploring her mouth with his tongue. When he finally pulled back he lifted one hand to lower his pods from his ears and smiled gently. "God you smell amazing." Lucy blushed and leaned up to place one more quick kiss to his lips. "You ready to deal with the guild?" Lucy nervously nodded and Laxus stood straight dropping his arm from around her waist but gently grabbing her hand and wrapping his large fingers around it. Lucy tried to hide her smile at the unexpected gesture and the two took off toward the guild.

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Well hopefully you guys are happy that this relationship is FINALLY going in the right direction :) i hope it doesn't seem to rushed or out of character and i will hopefully have more for you soon :) let me know what you think


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tail.. Nope.. None of it

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Chapter 12: Ready, Set, Go

Lucy stared up at the looming building of the Fairy Tail guild. Her heart was racing and she was sure her palms were sweaty which made her nervous as one of her hands was securely tucked in to the hand of the man beside her. She gently tried to pull her hand away however the hand around hers tightened its grip and pulled her forward. "Come on Blondie what do you have to be nervous about? You're not the one whose about to receive a million and one death threats." Lucy hid her smile and relaxed in the presence of the blonde dragon slayer. "Don't worry I'll hold them off while you run." Laxus glared at the petit figure beside him. "Excuse me? Laxus Drayer runs from no one. "He huffed and began to pull her along behind him as he stormed in to the building.

The two stopped just inside the doorway, Laxus standing behind Lucy with his hands placed firmly on her hips and his eyes swept the room, glaring at anyone who dare stare at the two. Suddenly the warm supple body in his hands was ripped away and he looked down to see Lucy being dragged to the job bored by a loud and obnoxious pink haired male. Laxus frowned for a minute but made his way over to the stairs. He made eye contact with Lucy and laughed when he saw her roll her eyes. He continued up the stairs and walked over to the table where his team were chatting. He saw Bixlow tense up and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You ever touch my woman again and your head will be put through a wall. Understood?" Bix nodded and Laxus patted his shoulder heavily. "Good." He then took a seat, popped on his sound pod and relaxed back, just enjoying being with his friends as they gossiped and talked.

/

Laxus felt a hesitant touch on his shoulder and opened his eyes to see his friends all silent and staring at him. He turned his head slightly and saw a nervous fidgeting Lucy at his side. He slipped off his sound pods and caught her hand in his tugging her to sit sideways on his lap. Lucy's eyes widened and she stiffened, staunchly trying to ignore the presence of his team starring at her. "What's up babe?" Lucy focused on Laxus's face and slowly relaxed just a bit. "I, um just wanted to let you know that I'm headed out on a job and I may not be back for a few days." Laxus frowned slightly and Lucy bristled thinking he was going to play all macho and tell her some bullshit like she couldn't go.

Laxus nodded and ran his hand gently up her arm before tangling his fingers in the back of her hair and pulling her forward in to a smoldering kiss. Lucy released an involuntary little moan and Laxus smirked in to the kiss. He released her mouth and wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close. "I'll be waiting for when your back." His voice was low and husky, and filled with promise and he felt the shiver that ran through Lucy's body. He pressed another quicker kiss to her lips and released her. Lucy jumped out of his lap and turned to face his team, blushing. She waved quickly then hesitated before leaning down and placing a swift kiss to Laxus's cheek. "Be back soon." She then turned and took off to where her team was waiting.

Laxus had watched as Lucy fled down the stairs then turned back to his team, daring them with a single look to say something. Ever rolled her eyes and engaged freed in a conversation ad Bixlow waggled his eyebrows at the blonde man, grinning from ear to ear. "You're welcome." He then turned back to the other two and joined their conversation while Laxus relaxed back in his seat.

/

It had been four days and Laxus was feeling restless. He wanted to see Lucy, wanted to spar with her and tease her and most of all he was craving the taste of her lips. He was starting to get twitchy and his team was becoming weary around him. If Lucy and Natsu didn't come back soon Laxus was liable to go out looking for them.

The next day Laxus was sulking by himself up on the second floor when the doors to the guild were thrown open and he heard Natsu's voice. "Hey Wendy, a little help over here?" Laxus rushed to the railing to see Natsu carrying Lucy across the hall and gently laying her on a table. He observed every inch of his girlfriend's prone form lying on the table. She was propping herself up on her elbows, a grimace on her face. Her little purple dragon was curled around her neck nuzzling her face and offering her comfort. His eyes tracked their way down her body observing every inch, past her waist and down her long legs until her got to her feet where one was wrapped securely in her regular boots and the other… His eyes stopped on her ankle and he saw red. Literally and figuratively. Her ankle was bent the wrong way and was crudely wrapped up in bandages that he could tell were once white but where now red. There was an odd point sticking out of the bandage and when Wendy rushed over and began to unravel them he saw the purple and black bruise as well as the gash in her skin where her bone seemed to be sticking out. Silent tears were running down her face and when Laxus saw that he lost all restraint.

In an instant he launched himself over the second floor railing and was at Lucy's side with Natsu's throat wrapped tightly in his hand. "What happened? Why is she this hurt? Where were you when this happened?" As he spoke his voice which had started out low and deadly was quickly increasing in volume. "You're her partner you're supposed to keep her safe." He was shouting now and the rest of the guild watched in silence. Laxus was expecting Natsu to fight back however the boy hung limply in his hands, his hair covering his face but Laxus could smell the salt and knew there were tears running from Natsu's eyes. What he wasn't expecting was the small dragon wrapped around Lucy's shoulders to take flight and grip his hand, attempting to pry his fingers away from the pink haired boy's throat. The small dragon was huffing and puffing and growling at him. "What are you doing aren't you supposed to protect her?" The small dragon growled louder and reared back blowing flames at the larger man's hands. Laxus released Natsu and growled at the purple flying menace.

"Stop it! All of you." The three fighters turned to see Lucy slowly rotate her ankle which was completely unblemished then swing her legs over the side of the table and began to test her ankle to see if she could place pressure on it. Wendy watched carefully waiting to see if she would need help.

Lucy shot Wendy a grateful look. "Thanks Wendy you're the best." "Anytime." The two girls smiled at each other and then Lucy turned toward her three "heroes" with a frown on her face. "Draco." The little purple dragon disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared wrapped around Lucy's shoulders nuzzling and whining. Lucy sighed and scratched the top of his head. "Thank you for your help and support. You can go home now, I'll let you know next time I need help." The purple dragon nuzzled the side of her face and nodded before returning to the spirit world. "Natsu you're next." Natsu hadn't moved since Laxus had let go of his neck and his head was still down with his hair covering his face. "Natsu stop it, you're being a baby and you're not even the one who got hurt. I'm not a damsel in distress who constantly needs to be helped." She shot Laxus a look with those words as well. "It's my fault Luce. I should've paid more attention." Lucy rolled her eyes and stood from the table wobbling just a bit before regaining her balance. "Nonsense. I'm fine and really there was nothing more you could have done." She walked up to her friend and wrapped her arms around him. "You're my partner and I trust you with my life. I know you will always be there when I need you and this was in no way your fault." Natsu wrapped Lucy up in his arms and held her tightly, hiding his face against her shoulder. "Love you Luce, and I'm sorry." Lucy laughed and tightened her hold before letting go and knocking him gently upside the head. "Love you to you dork and there is nothing to be sorry for. I did this to myself besides it's all fixed up."

Natsu nodded and Lucy rounded on the final figure. "And you!" She walked up to him and pushed a finger in to his chest. "Do you really think Natsu would ever intentionally let me get hurt? Heck do you think that after training with you for so long I would let someone hurt me?" Laxus looked away sullenly and refused to say a word. Lucy reached up on her tip toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm fine no need to get all crazy protective boyfriend on me." Laxus wrapped an arm around her waist and sighed. "What happened Blondie?" Lucy stilled and her cheeks turned a bright red. "Look Wendy fixed me up and I'm all better now so who really cares about the details." Lucy faked a huge yawn and stretched. "Geez I'm exhausted, I think I'm gonna go take a nap." She tried to extricate herself from his hold however his arm tightened. "Lucy what happened." The blonde sighed and deflated in his arms, peering up at him through her bangs sheepishly. "I tripped."

Laxus blinked down at her. "Come again?" She hid her face against his chest. "We finished the mission and were walking home and I tripped. And then I fell." The entire guild seemed to sweat drop at this exclamation and Laxus slowly shook his head. "Why am I not surprised." He gently smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Come on Blondie let's get you home."

Laxus picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, ignoring Lucy's loud complaints and the guild watched as he carried the squirming girl out of the doors once again.

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Honestly I can't say how sorry I am that this took so long. I sat down to write but couldn't get anything out. Hopefully this chapter is ok :) let me know if yu like it please!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. I just like to borrow the characters ;)

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Chapter 13: Movie Night

Laxus shouldered open Lucy's apartment door and gently placed her on her feet. The two stood in the front entrance of the apartment. Laxus with his arms crossed and a completely straight face stared down at Lucy who had her hands on her hips and was scowling at him. Laxus waited for the inevitable blow up that was about to come from the blonde figure in front of him and figured he would enjoy the nice view down her shirt that he had while he waited. What he didn't expect was for Lucy the spin on her heel and stalk off to the couch and TV. He stood in the door way uncertainly and slowly blinked at his girlfriend the only indication he gave that he wasn't sure what to do. He watched his girlfriend bustle around the apartment setting a kettle on for tea as well as opening the cupboards and the fridge to apparently get some snacks as she returned to the living room and placed a bowl of chips and some dip on the table.

Laxus stood silently and watched her move around the apartment until finally she shouted from the kitchen, pouring the hot water in to two mugs with some cocoa powder. "While, are you going to stand there all night?" He hesitantly stepped more in to the room and closed the door. "You're not going to yell at me?" Lucy sighed and carried the two steaming mugs to the table. "No I'm not going to yell at you. Although it was unnecessary it's nice that you cared so much however," Finally she turned to look at him her hands once again resting on her hips. "You can't attack my friends when I'm hurt, clearly Natsu already felt bad enough and he didn't do anything. You need to be able to trust me and trust that I can take care of myself." She had slowly walked up to his as she spoke and she placed her hands on his shoulders to help steady herself as she raised up on to tip toes to give him a slow tantalizing kiss. "And you need to trust that when I need help I'll come to you." Laxus placed his hands on the warm skin of her hips and stared down in to her eyes, trying to convey through his thoughts how scared he was when he saw her ankle so badly injured.

"I was just worried. I do trust you, hell I even trust that flame brain would fight to the death before letting something happen to you. But Lucy…" He pulled her close against his chest, enfolding her small frame within his larger one. "I saw your ankle and I freaked. I want to always be around to be able to help you, and I know you have your team and I have mine and I won't always be there. But that scares me. I don't like the fact that I can't always be there to make sure your safe and that I have to rely on your team to bring you home to me."

Lucy was blushing, she never knew Laxus cared that much, they had technically only been dating for a about a week and already it felt like they had been together for years. She wasn't sure how comfortable she was with the emotional side of their relationship moving so fast. Raw passion and hunger was something she expected from Laxus. She was prepared for him to want to be in her bed, she was not prepared for this declaration of love that he was practically giving her. "Laxus." She began to pull away nervously, mentally preparing to distance herself, it felt like it couldn't have been that long ago that she was head over heels in love with Natsu and while she understood now that, that was her subconscious being swayed by everyone else and that her love for Natsu was different she didn't want to feel like what she felt for Laxus was a trick. She didn't want to be so overwhelmed by his presence, to have him running through her mind 24/7 and have missed him so much over the last five days.

"Laxus what are we doing? We've been together for almost no time at all... Maybe…" Laxus stopped her next words with a kiss which was a good thing because she wasn't entirely sure what she was going to say. "Don't" The word was growled at her and her eyes which had been downcast shot up to look in to his own. "Don't pull away. Lucy I have been there for you every day for the last few months. I've held my tongue while you grieved for the person who never deserved your love in the first place. I watched you fall for him and prepared myself for the day you two were together and then on Christmas when we found him and Gray. I was happy." Lucy bristled slightly and Laxus held her tighter. "I hated seeing you upset, but I finally had my chance. I had watched and imagined but now it could become a reality. And I admit at the time my intentions were less than pure but then we began to train together to talk to each other. And all of a sudden it wasn't just your body that I wanted. The more time I spent with you the more I began to love your kind soul and your smart wit and even the fact that you are the strongest person I know even though you can't throw a punch worth a damn."

Lucy had tears falling gently from her eyes as Laxus spoke, her heart almost hurting from how hard and fast it was pounding. She wanted to pull him in to her arms and never let go. She wanted to fall head over heels for this man because she knew now that Natsu had never been the right guy for her. It had always been Laxus, the one watching and helping from the shadows until she was ready to turn her light on him.

Laxus continued to speak to her and every word he said made her hold him tighter. "I have wanted you for too long to let go now that I finally have you. Lucy Heartfillia you are the one girl I want to be with and I refuse to let you pull away. I accept that you aren't at the same level for me as I am for you and I am happy to wait, as long as you don't pull away. We'll take it at your pace but I want you to know that when you're ready for it my heart is yours." Lucy couldn't speak as she was crying so hard, so to get her thoughts across she pulled his head down to her and caught his lips in the most passionate and emotion filled kiss she could manage. "I won't run away." She whispered across his lips and the two stood there and lost all track of time as they explored each other's mouths.

/

Laxus sat back on the couch and watched the images flicker over the screen. It was some sort of horror movie which in his opinion was pretty lame but it made the figure in his lap, tense and push up closer against him, and that he enjoyed quite a bit. The cocoa Lucy had made them was long gone and the snacks she had pulled out were now empty bowls. It was late in to the night but neither wanted to end the mini movie marathon that kept them in each other's company.

Laxus however was quickly losing the very minimal interest he had in the movie as his interest was instead being drawn to the supple figure resting in his lap. He had his back resting against the arm rest of the couch and his feet up resting along the cushions and Lucy curled up in his lap with her back pressed to his chest. Laxus could hear every little gasp she made when reacting to the movie and loved the feeling of her fingers grasping his leg tightly and her body shifting in his lap to press closer. Before he could help himself he pulled her hair to one side of her neck, baring the other side. He leaned in and gently began to run his lips up and down the smooth expanse of skin. "Laxus?" Lucy's voice was distracted as her eyes stayed on the movie. "Hmmm?" His hands were resting lightly on her hips his fingers slowly beginning to run up and down her sides as the light press of lips on her neck began to turn in to kisses, nips and licks. Lucy squirmed in his lap as his fingers tickled her sides and couldn't help but giggle which turned in to a low moan when he gently nibbled on her ear lobe.

Lucy began to turn towards him, looking for more but he tightened his grip on her torso, keeping her back pressed up against him. She turned her head to him and pouted. "Laxus." He quickly sealed his lips over hers, gently coaxing and melding against her petal soft lips. His hands again began to roam her sides as her lips opened for him. His tongue touched her bottom lip, running over it back and forth before beginning to explore her mouth, teasing her own tongue which was desperate for contact.

His hands slowly slid from her sides up to cup the bottom of her breasts. Lucy let out a small gasp which was lost as Laxus deepened the kiss. Slowly and gently he caressed her and his right hand slid up and in to the top of her shirt, sliding between skin and lace to cup her breast more firmly. His fingers carefully tugged and gently twisted her pebbled nipple and Lucy was firmly squirming against him, and rubbing her ass straight into his groin. He really couldn't help the fact that what she was rubbing against was his stiff member. Lucy let loose a loud moan and separated the from the kiss to lay her head back against his shoulder, firmly pressing her breasts further in to his hands and gyrating her hips against his own.

Laxus observed her flushed face, with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted, her breathe coming fast. Laxus knew in that moment that if he wanted to keep his resolve to take things slow he had to stop now, before it became too difficult to hold back. He gave the large firm breasts in his hands another gentle squeeze and then slowly slid his hands out of her shirt and down to her hips, shifting her forward so she wasn't pressed to his groin. "L-Laxus, why are you stopping?" Her voice was light and breathy and Laxus tried hard not to groan and continue their actions. "We're taking it slow Blondie. Time to stop."

The blonde pouted and turned to look at the muscular man that was holding her so firmly away from him. "But I'm ready to go further. I want to." Laxus almost caved but shook his head and grinned evilly. "Oh Blondie I have no doubt how ready you are for me but I plan to work you in to an inch of sanity. You won't get it until I've teased you so much you're ready to break. You'll want it so bad that you'll be begging for it, and you'll be nice and wet and ready for me then when I've deemed you ready I'll take you and I'll worship your body for hours. I'll bring you from the point of begging for more to begging me to stop because you won't be able to handle all the pleasure running through your body."

Lucy was squeezing her thighs and rubbing them together, panting loudly and more than ready for all the wicked promises Laxus was making. "However you're not ready for that yet and I'm going to take my time getting you there. I promised we would take this slow and I'm going to make the wait so pleasurable that you will be out of your mind with wanting. Then and only then will I take you in as many ways as possible until neither of us can move. And with a dragons stamina that could take days." Lucy moaned loudly and attacked his lips in a kiss pushing herself tightly against him and rubbing her heated core across his stiff member. Laxus enjoyed the feeling for another minute or two before firmly pushing her away and settling in to the couch again. "Watch the movie Blondie." It took close to ten minutes for the celestial mage to cool down enough that she could resume their former position, both of them trying to ignore the hardness poking in to her.

/

Two movies later and a couple of stolen kisses and Laxus was looking down at a sleeping blonde, using his chest as a pillow. He smiled gently and carefully repositioned her in his arms so her head was resting on his shoulder and he had one arm around her back and the other under her legs. He turned the TV off with the remote and stood from the couch carrying his sleeping beauty to the bed and gently lowering her on to the mattress. He pulled her blanket up and over her as she snuggled in to the pillow and leaned down to kiss her forehead tenderly. He would never let the guild or anybody see him like this, the only one who was allowed to know he had a gentle side was the sleeping Blonde he was very much in love with. He stood and turned to leave, prepared to go home to his large empty bed and wait until morning when he could see the girl again.

As Laxus went to walk away he felt a small tug on his hand. He turned back to see Lucy gripping his hand gently, her large brown eyes bleary with sleep and only slightly parted. "Where are you going?" Her voice was just a whisper however his sensitive ears caught it. "Home, to sleep." Lucy slowly shook her head and tugged on his hand. "Stay." Laxus hesitated for only a minute before he undid the buttons on his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders then undid his pants, leaving himself in his boxers before sliding in to Lucy's bed and pulling her back tightly against his chest.

The two fell asleep wrapped up in each others warmth.

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Here's another chapter and I really do apologize that it takes so long to get them out :( i'm trying to work on it more there's just the small issue of having to actually leave my bedroom to have a life. I love hearing what you guys think though and the encouragement to continue really does get me writing faster so let me know how you feel about this chapter :)I also wanna thank everyone for reading, reviewing, following and favoring. It makes me so happy to know people are actually reading and liking my writing and i just want to hug every one of you lol


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